Boycott against Xiao Zhan Incident

The "Xiao Zhan incident", is an ongoing conflict that originated between fans of Chinese entertainer Xiao Zhan and Archive of Our Own fanfiction readers.

Background

On February 24, 2020, an erotica fanfiction featuring Xiao Zhan and his The Untamed co-star Wang Yibo was uploaded to Weibo. Many of Xiao Zhan's fans were displeased by the author's usage of their idol’s name and photos in the fiction which they believed was of defamatory nature. These fans reported the article along with its author and the AO3 website to Chinese officials for obscene content. Shortly after, AO3 was taken down in mainland China. [1][2] Access to AO3 in other regions was unaffected.

227 Incident

The censorship of AO3 and Lofter caused widespread outrage among Chinese netizens. Their resentment was further amplified by controversial behaviors of some of Xiao Zhan's fans.[3][4] Many netizens began to boycott Xiao Zhan. They claimed Xiao Zhan should take personal responsibility for his fans' actions.[5][6] Many major brands also revoked their contracts with Xiao Zhan as a result of this incident. These brands include Olay, Luckin coffee, OPPO, Mengniu, Unified Enterprise, Budweiser Beer, Estée Lauder, Crest, Sassoon.[7][8][9]

Apology from Xiao Zhan Studio

On March 1, 2020, Xiao Zhan's studio issued a statement on Weibo apologizing for taking up public resources during the COVID-19 period and for causing troubles to the public. [10][11][12]

"Light Source" Controversy

At midnight on April 25, 2020, Xiao Zhan dropped a new single called "Light Source" without prior notice. The single cost 3 RMB per download and was sold 30 million times within 94 hours. Xiao Zhan's fans claimed they did not force anyone to stream "Light Source" and said minors would not be eligible to apply for loans in the first place. [13]

Xiao Zhan's Interview with Economic View

On May 6, 2020, Xiao Zhan was interviewed by Economic View for his opinions on the 227 Incident. He was, at the time, also attacked by internet users for controversial remarks made on Weibo when during his college years. Xiao Zhan apologized for his old posts and expressed his confusion toward what had happened since February 27, 2020. He disagreed, however, with the view that idols needed to be responsible for their fans’ behaviors as he noted idols should be equals, not superiors, to fans. [14]

Xiao Zhan's Fan Association Under Re-Organization

On May 15, 2020, Xiao Zhan's Weibo fan association announced they were in the process of being reorganized. [15]

Initiation of Criminal Case by Beijing City Chaoyang District Police Office

On May 20, 2020, Xiao Zhan's attorney released an announcement on Weibo of the Beijing City Chaoyang District Police Office’s initiation of a criminal case for "The Crime of Illegal Use of Information Network". The case is currently under investigation. [16]

References
  1. "How irrational fans ruined fan fiction site AO3 and their idol too". Global Times. March 8, 2020.
  2. 陈圣雅 (2020-03-01). "同人小说平台ao3被举报，肖战深陷抵制风波" [Fanfiction platform ao3 was reported, and Xiao Zhan fell into resistance]. 凤凰网. Archived from the original on 2020-03-01. Retrieved 2020-03-02.
  3. "Xiao Zhan and AO3 Fans Clash, Sparking Social Media Firestorm". Pan Daily.
  4. "Fans should be more tolerant of fan works featuring boys' love". Global Times. March 1, 2020.
  5. "肖战被粉丝坑·代言遭集体抵制" [Xiao Zhan was collectively boycotted by fan pits and endorsements]. 星洲日报 (in Chinese). 2020-03-02.
  6. 杨明 (2020-03-01). "粉丝恶意举报致平台被禁 肖战代言遭大批网友抵制" [Fans maliciously report the platform is banned, Xiao Zhan endorsement is resisted by a large number of netizens]. 网易. Archived from the original on 2020-03-01. Retrieved 2020-03-02.
  7. "Xiao Zhan scandal – why millions of Chinese shoppers boycotted Piaget and Estée Lauder because of homoerotic idol fan fiction". SCMP. March 22, 2020.
  8. "Toxic Fan Culture Puts Brands at Risk in China". Business Off Fashion.
  9. "Fan-Fiction Site Blocked in China After Celeb's Stans Complain", Sixth Tone
  10. 肖战工作室 (2020-03-01), 大家好，这里是肖战工作室 近日我们注意... 来自肖战工作室 - 微博 [Hello everyone, this is Xiao Zhan Studio. Recently we noticed ... From Xiao Zhan Studio-Weibo], 新浪微博
  11. 杨明 (2020-03-01). "理智追星！肖战工作室就粉丝举报致平台被禁道歉" [Reason for chasing stars! Xiao Zhan Studio Apologized For Fan Reporting, Rejecting Platform]. 网易. Archived from the original on 2020-03-01. Retrieved 2020-03-02.
  12. 李湘文 (2020-03-01). "不爽偶像被寫進同人文…肖戰粉絲「聯手滅掉AO3」用戶怒炸！ 工作室道歉了" [Unhappy idols are written in the same humanities ... Xiao Zhan fans "Jointly destroy AO3" users are angry! Aunt Studio apologized]. ETtoday新聞雲. Archived from the original on 2020-03-01. Retrieved 2020-03-02.
  13. 李思, ed. (2020-04-28). "华语音乐历史第一！肖战新歌《光点》销售额过亿". 网易娱乐 (in Chinese). 网易. Retrieved 2020-04-28.
  14. 邓健, ed. (2020-05-07). "专访肖战 谈过往，谈成长，谈公益". 中新经纬 (in Chinese). 中新经纬. Retrieved 2020-05-20.
  15. 肖战全球后援会, ed. (2020-05-15). "肖战全球后援会公告". Retrieved 2020-05-20.
  16. 北京勇者律师事务所, ed. (2020-05-20). "相信法律，敬畏法律". Retrieved 2020-05-20.
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