Chinese actress Yan Xuejing’s douyin account is barred from gaining new followers on January 11, 2026. Photo:VCG

Chinese actress Yan Xuejing recently drew online skepticism and criticism for complaining during a livestream that her son's family earns "only a few hundred thousand yuan" (tens of thousands of US dollars) a year and struggles to make ends meet.

Public reaction to Yan's remarks has been mixed, and many netizens questioned them. Some Weibo users said her words show that the actress has been "out of touch with ordinary people" for long, and argued that she "should not complain to ordinary people," noting that her family's income is already higher than that of most households. Although many say she was trying to "pretend to be poor," some others commented that with Beijing's high cost of living, an annual income of several hundred thousand yuan can indeed be tight for a family of three seeking a relatively comfortable lifestyle.

On Saturday, the Global Times found that Yan Xuejing's accounts on platforms such as Douyin and Kuaishou has been barred from gaining new followers, and on Sunday, one of the companies involved terminated her product endorsement cooperation with Yan.

On Sunday, the Dihua MSG and Food, a company from Northeast China's Liaoning Province, issued a statement, saying it had taken note of recent online discussions involving its food brand "Zuo Xiang Yuan" and its endorser Yan Xuejing, and understood the public's concerns.

After a careful internal assessment, the company has decided to terminate its endorsement cooperation with Yan, effective immediately, the company said in the statement. It added that related promotional materials will be updated accordingly, and that it will accelerate the replacement of existing product packaging as soon as possible.