5 Hong Kong celebrities who hit back at body-shaming trolls – Canto-pop stars Joyce Cheng and Serrini spoke out, while Gillian Chung’s fans rushed to her defence

Dec 20 , 2021

Stars like Joyce Cheng and indie-pop singer Serrini stood up against body-shamers. Photo:
@princejoyce; @gwendolyn.spot/Instagram — Stars like Joyce Cheng and indie-pop singer Serrini stood up against body-shamers. Photo: @princejoyce; @gwendolyn.spot/Instagram

Janice Vidal spoke out against former boss Leon Lai’s distasteful comments about her weight, while Chung got 20 Botox shots after getting fat-shamed over her legs

Christine Kuo suffered from hypothyroidism while body positivity activist Cheng opened up in an RTHK interview about how strict dieting negatively affected her health

There’s no denying that celebrities – especially women – are constantly scrutinised for their looks, particularly their weight and physique. And the pressure to fit the public’s perception of what’s considered “perfect” can be extremely detrimental, especially for major A-listers who are constantly in the media spotlight.

Fortunately, the tide is beginning to turn thanks to the myriad of stars who’ve clapped back against the haters and ushered in a slightly more body-positive or – body-neutral – era.

Here, we take a look at how these five Hong Kong stars dealt with body-shamers.

1. Joyce Cheng Yan-yee

Singer-actress Joyce Cheng has clapped back against body-shamers in recent years. Photo: @princejoyce/Instagram

Growing up in the limelight, singer Joyce Cheng Yan-yee, daughter of the late comedian Lydia Sum Tin-ha, aka “Fei-fei” or “Fatty” – was often criticised for her curvy figure.

Cheng shared that she once weighed 235 pounds during puberty and also suffered from various health problems, such as high cholesterol, that gave her headaches and made her retch, according to RTHK programme This Week in 2016. The star faced a slew of distasteful comments about her weight. She was called obese by the public, which made her want to lose weight.

Singer-actress Joyce Cheng when she was a child, with her mum Lydia Shum. Photo: @princejoyce/Instagram

With a strict diet and an exercise routine, Cheng lost almost half the weight, reaching 138 pounds. However, she later confessed in the same RTHK interview that at the time she was often hungry and her blood sugar was so low that she always felt dizzy.

In 2014, the 34-year-old singer-actress reportedly gained back some of the weight – and the public showed her no mercy. The media even described her as “abandoning herself”.

“Does a fat body imply that he or she is lazy, unkempt and disqualified to pursue for dream?” Cheng asked, in the same RTHK interview.

In June 2014, Cheng confessed that she would never force herself to lose weight again. “Happiness isn’t based on body weight! I refuse to live for others. Learning to be comfortable in my own skin,” she wrote on Instagram.