Chinese actress Fan Bingbing left animal activists unimpressed after smooching a beluga whale on an episode of a Chinese reality TV programme.
According to Chinese culture site Shanghaiist, Fan appeared on the show “Challenger Alliance 2”, which tests celebrities with quirky challenges. On the episode which Fan appears, her challenge was to become a aquarium keeper.
Appearing in a schoolgirl outfit, the 34-year-old actress posted photos of the tender moment with the mammal on her Weibo account on June 18, which quickly went viral. The post has attracted nearly 500,000 ‘likes’ so far.
However, it also got the attention of the China Cetacean Alliance, a whale conservation group which posted a statement on Weibo condemning the act:
“These beluga whales are trafficked from Russia after being taken from the wild. They should be given the freedom to dive, explore, frolic and communicate in the Arctic waters. Now they have lost that freedom and will never see the light again, they are imprisoned to do performances and get photographed while being held and kissed by stars. At the same time, this just gives more greedy businessmen a glamorous excuse to buy them.”
On the other hand, there’s so far no word from Fan’s boyfriend, actor Li Chen, on what he thinks about the on-screen kiss.
See also: Photos of Fan Bingbing and Li Chen’s luxury home leaked online
candicec@sph.com.sg
Fan Bingbing’s Weibo
