Famed Chinese actress Liu Xiaoqing has become the center of a major debate as of late. The 75-year-old actress made headlines after she was cast as an 18-year-old in her latest drama. While many commended her for her skills and for maintaining her looks, many people also questioned the decision. Another major aspect that became a hot topic soon was her co-star and love interest, actor Jin Jia, who is 45 years old and 30 years her junior. The major age difference has caused a lot of mixed reactions online.
Liu Xiaoqing is under fire after being cast with an actor who is 30 years her junior
It was recently announced that Liu Xiaoqing will be joining the cast of ‘Splendid Tranquility’ as the lead. She plays the role of an 18-year-old embroiderer while being 75 herself. When it was confirmed that her love interest would be played by Jin Jia, who is 45, there were lot of mixed opinions online shared about the matter. The debate mainly began after one of the latest episodes in the series featured a kiss scene between the two co-stars. While many people stood in support of the age gap, there were an equal number of netizens who called it out and criticized the creators of the show as well.
Netizens react to the matter
The kiss scene and the age gap itself have sparked a major debate online. Many people have been commenting about how the age gap is a good thing and that if the genders were reversed, many people would not be this offended.However, many others called out that a 75-year-old should not be playing the role of an 18-year-old, and nor should they be playing the romantic lead against a person who is 30 years younger than them. One netizen’s comment about the matter read, “The kiss made me uncomfortable. It felt like a grandmother falling in love with her grandson,” while another shared that “Why are actresses always judged so harshly? Liu has not broken any laws and delivered an outstanding performance, yet she faces ridicule.”
More about ‘Splendid Tranquility’
The story follows the life of an 18-year-old commoner girl who works as an embroiderer in a village. However, a chain of events happens, and she ends up leaving behind her poor life to get married to the king of the region. As per the South China Morning Post, Xiaoqing had to undergo a lot of training and difficulties to play such a young role at her age. The filming schedule was extremely demanding, and as per the reports, the actress would often only rest for three hours a night. Amid the ongoing debate, the actress has also issued a statement citing that the kiss scene was important to the series and was not taken lightly.
