Zhu Yilong Photo: IC

Chinese actor Zhu Yilong's mispronunciation of a Chinese idom during an interview at the 72nd Cannes Film Festival sparked discussion on the Chinese internet on Monday. 

Graduating from the Beijing Film Academy with a bachelor's degree in performance, the 31-year-old actor has earned quite a number of fans with his performances in various period dramas. 

According to Chinese news site guancha.cn, during an interview with Chinese celebrity Hong Huang at the festival, Zhu pronounced the phrase wan ku zi di as kua kua zi di. The phrase is used to refer to members of a rich family who do not accomplish much in life besides enjoying themselves.  

The video clip of the interview quickly drew many comments, with some netizens joking how embarrassing it was for him to mispronounce such a commonly used phrase. 

On Wednesday, his studio responded on Sina Weibo saying that "we will write down the phrase 100 times as a punishment." 

On the one hand, the studio's humorous way of handling the harmless mistake turned the incidence into a fun story that shows that sometimes public figures make mistakes just like everyone else does. 

However, on the other hand, its undeniable that the higher profile of celebrities means they are a role model for many, and as such must work hard to set the example for others. In other words, with great popularity, comes great responsibility. 

Take TFBoys Wang Yuan's recent smoking incident for example. 

The Chinese heartthrob was photographed smoking in a Beijing restaurant despite city regulations prohibiting smoking indoors. Although he posted a rote PR friendly apology on Sina Weibo, one has to wonder if he would have regretted breaking the law if he hadn't been caught. 

To look at an example of a good role model we have only to turn to South Korean boy band BTS.

The supergroup appeared on the Morning Mash Up on SiriusXM, a US radio program on Tuesday. The group disclosed that they wished they could tell their younger selves to work harder studying English. 

The truth is, however, that BTS' English is far better than that of most Chinese bands, and yet they still wish they could improve despite already having great success in the US market. 

This attitude is an example worthy of following by young people all over the world. 

While celebrities are only human, given their popularity with young people and their fans, their mistakes have a far greater impact than the mistakes of ordinary people. This is exactly why celebrities must be held to a higher standard.