Mainland Chinese celebrity Cai Xukun’s image took a major hit when it was revealed in June that he had a one-night stand with a woman named Ms. C and even pressured her to have an abortion. As a result, the variety show “Running Man,” in which he participated, was abruptly taken off the air for two weeks. On July 14th, it finally resumed airing, but Cai Xukun’s footage had been completely removed, leaving no visible traces, not even a mosaic. Netizens were impressed, praising the “amazing post-production team.”
It is reported that Cai Xukun’s scheduled concert in Singapore on July 15th will proceed as planned. Tonight will mark his first appearance after the controversy, which has left many fans eagerly anticipating it.
“Running Man” is a reality show produced by Zhejiang Satellite TV and is an adaptation of the original South Korean SBS program of the same name. Popular celebrities such as Angelababy, Dilraba Dilmurat, and Lu Han have served as regular guests.
Recently, Cai Xukun participated in the recording of “Running Man” in Bangkok, featuring (G)I-DLE’s Thai member Minnie. The episode was highly anticipated but was put on hold for two weeks due to the Cai Xukun controversy. The show’s official announcement of its return on the 14th prompted many netizens to wonder how the program would “handle” Cai Xukun, as paparazzi had previously revealed that all his scenes had been cut.
After the episode aired, shocked netizens commented, “Cai Xukun is completely invisible, thanks to the post-production work,” and “It’s incredible, as if this person never participated in the recording.” Some observant netizens pointed out a conspicuous empty space when all the members lined up, praising Zhejiang Satellite TV for effectively eliminating Cai Xukun’s presence. They said, “No wonder it took two weeks of post-production.”
It is worth mentioning that in the past, controversial artists like Li Yundi and Huo Zun were either pixelated or had images placed directly on their faces when they appeared on variety shows, either due to time constraints or rushed broadcasting. In comparison, Zhejiang Satellite TV’s approach is relatively meticulous. Netizens compared it to the methods used by other variety shows to censor controversial artists.
It is noteworthy that Taiwanese media reported that during the announced suspension period of “Running Man,” when artist Zhang Dada was live streaming, a netizen claiming to be a post-production staff member of “Running Man” entered the chat room and exclaimed, “I’ve done the censoring! After censoring, they told me it couldn’t be broadcast today! It can’t be broadcast! What can I do? Tell me, what can I do! We want to speed it up too! Do you think we don’t want to broadcast it? We’ve been censoring day and night!”
Although the identity of the online participant cannot be confirmed, some netizens joked, “I kind of believe she really is a post-production staff member,” and “To edit the show like this, I’d go crazy too.”