In its statement, Hege Entertainment stated that Wen Xiang's filming of "The Long Ballad" was conducted in a rigorous yet pleasant atmosphere. The company's artist Wen Xiang's hard work has always been evident to all. He has learned a lot from working with the director and other actors of "The Long Ballad". The termination of the cooperation between the two parties was due to force majeure, and not due to the situation of stealing roles or sudden replacement as speculated by netizens.
However, Waka Entertainment has not yet provided a specific explanation of what "force majeure" actually means.
Wen Xiang himself seemed unaffected by the online controversy; the next day, he posted a Weibo post featuring romantic photos of himself on the streets overseas.
"My feathers are so beautiful, so could the crew of 'The Long Ballad' come out and walk around for a bit? What exactly does 'force majeure' mean?"
"+1. The actor was suddenly replaced halfway through filming. Wen Xiang's magnanimity does not mean that the production team should not give an explanation."
For Wen Xiang, "The Long Ballad" was the best opportunity he had ever had since his debut. After being confirmed to play a role in it, although the production team of "The Long Ballad" hoped that the actors would keep a low profile, Wen Xiang still quietly revealed the news to his fan club.
His fans cheered, saying that Wen Xiang had successfully transitioned from an idol drama actor to a serious drama actor.
But now, Wen Xiang has only been in the "Chang Ge Dang Ku" crew for a few days, and his role has inexplicably disappeared. Of course, the fans feel unwilling. When they saw that the person who replaced Wen Xiang was actually Ji Yan, the fans' anger flared up even more.
During the "Idol Generation" period, Wen Xiang's popularity was definitely among the top of all the contestants, and his chances of debuting were very high. But then Ji Yan suddenly appeared and stole the debut opportunity that should have belonged to Wen Xiang.
Later, when Wen Xiang's fans saw "Yi" fall from the debut group to being ridiculed by everyone, they couldn't help but secretly laugh. After all, besides Ji Yan directly taking away Wen Xiang's debut opportunity, Xie Mingxuan, Lu Wei, and Fang Yu's popularity on the show had always surpassed Wen Xiang's.
Wen Xiang's fans never expected that "Wings" could make such a dramatic comeback. Not only did both albums sell extremely well, but the members' popularity was also top-tier in the idol circle. Even though idols are at the bottom of the entertainment industry, Wen Xiang's foray into acting was, to some extent, an attempt to escape his awkward position.
However, this approach doesn't seem to apply to "wings".
The resources available to Wen Xiang are currently unavailable to him, which is why fans were so excited when he landed the role in "The Long Song of Tears." With director Chu Yunquan and several award-winning actors joining the cast, as long as Wen Xiang has even a glimmer of brilliance in the series, his future acting career will undoubtedly be smoother.
But this time...
The so-called statement issued by Hege Entertainment did not satisfy the fans at all. In addition, Wen Xiang has not spoken out, so the fans naturally think that Wen Xiang is the wronged party. Many fans even automatically imagined a big drama in which Ji Yan forced Wen Xiang to give up the role.
"Back then with 'Idol Generation,' fans were the ones who suffered, and they're still suffering now. @JiYan, please don't just focus on one person when you're trying to fleece them, okay?"
"This has happened more than once. Is someone addicted to it?"
Wen Xiang's fans went straight to Ji Yan's Weibo, and not only Ji Yan's Weibo, but also DW Entertainment's official Weibo was filled with criticism.
Ji Yan felt like he'd been caught in a trap, and all he could do was log into his Weibo account and post a picture—
"??? Teacher Ji, what about your image?"
"My idol shouldn't be like this!!"
Ji Yan found a photo from some obscure corner. As fans would say, the photo's resolution looked like it'd been pickled in a sauerkraut jar; only the face was vaguely recognizable as Ji Yan's. This "Crazy Croods" held his hands high, with a small square photoshopped onto them: "Didn't offend any of you!"
"Are Teacher Ji and the members of the Wings Troupe going to continue down the path of comedy?"
"Look at them, posing for a fresh and clean photoshoot on the Champs-Élysées in Paris. And look at you, did you just come back from mining coal?"
"We're crowdfunding to give Teacher Ji a pair of hands that can take great photos. Anyone who sees this picture will have a heart attack."
Ji Yan's picture can be seen as a response to the accusations from Wen Xiang's fans, but Wen Xiang's fans are not buying it and are still using the tag "Ji Yan steals roles" in various trending topics.
"...I just want to say, does Ji Yan really need to resort to such methods to snatch a role? Wen Xiang isn't playing a major role, is he? Ji Yan rushed into the production right after the 'Blue' concert; it doesn't seem like he planned this all along, does it?"
"+1, I really can't think of any reason why Ji Yan would steal Wen Xiang's role. It's completely unnecessary."
Despite the considerable noise from Wen Xiang's fans, once Ji Yan posted that unflattering picture, his comment section was filled with discussions about his photography skills, and nobody paid any attention to Wen Xiang's fans, letting them say whatever they wanted.
Wen Xiang's fans had no choice but to direct their criticism at the production team of "The Long Song of Tears".
At this point, even Ji Yan, who had been falsely accused of stealing the role, fell silent. Hege Entertainment's response couldn't appease the fans, and Wen Xiang should speak up now, at least to restrain them—the entire "Chang Ge Dang Ku" production team, from the director to the actors, were renowned figures in the television drama industry, and even had considerable prestige in the film and theater circles. Offending all of them meant Wen Xiang would have to spend his entire life working in idol dramas.
...
Chu Yunquan initially ignored Wen Xiang's fans. After all, the crew was busy filming and he didn't have time to be distracted by other things. Moreover, he didn't intend to let the "Chang Ge Dang Ku" crew respond. Although Wen Xiang had indeed angered him during filming, Chu Yunquan was always kind and tolerant, and he didn't want to ruin a young actor's future because of filming issues.
He contacted Hege Entertainment on behalf of the film crew, asking Wen Xiang to show up and clarify things.
After two full days of the incident, Wen Xiang's response finally arrived belatedly.
His response was consistent with that of Waka Entertainment, only saying that he learned a lot during the filming of "The Long Ballad," but he felt very sorry that the filming could not continue due to his own reasons.
If the response ends here, Wen Xiang's wording is quite good, and his attitude is quite humble. Even if it is a little late, it doesn't matter.
But his response had a second part: "Ji Yan is one of the most talented actors I know. I believe he can handle the role of Qin Xin very well, at least better than I could."
"Feather, you must believe in yourself, you are the best!"
Why should we admit that you are worse than others? In our hearts, you are number one.
"Losing the role is already heartbreaking, but to make Yu Hao admit that the person who took the role from him is better than him, I really feel sorry for Yu Hao, sob sob sob."
"How can you know that others are better than you if you don't even have the chance to act?"
Ji Yan: "..."
Another huge pot was smashed down on him, and he felt incredibly wronged.
He couldn't help but recall when he participated in "Idol Century". He felt that Wen Xiang didn't speak like this back then. However, he wasn't very familiar with him. The two of them had never worked together when they were grouped. Back then, everyone avoided Ji Yan. No matter which group he joined, the members of his group were very desperate.
As soon as Wen Xiang made this response, Ji Yan was criticized again. Although Ji Yan has a lot of fans, the members of "Wing" don't like to let their fans be the ones charging ahead, especially since many of them are underage fans. So in terms of fighting power, the individual Ji Yan fans are no match for Wen Xiang's fans.
Ji Yan no longer wanted to deal with this matter. Let him be scolded if he wanted to; he had been scolded plenty of times before anyway.
But just an hour after Wen Xiang issued his statement, the matter stirred up again.
Whether out of a fit of madness or a sudden lapse of judgment, Ji Yushi posted the word "ridiculous" on Weibo.
After all, he is the second young master of the Ji family. Although his authority is not as great as Ji Wei's, he still has quite a few followers on Weibo. Ji Yushi has not posted on Weibo for almost a year. His previous posts were almost all related to collecting and cultural relics. His sudden post of a puzzling statement naturally makes people think of the dispute between Ji Yan and Wen Xiang.
When a reporter called Ji Yushi directly to verify the claim, Ji Yushi did not deny it.
Ji Yan's elder brother, Ji Yushi, called Wen Xiang "ridiculous".
Is there more to the story behind the casting change? Ji Yushi angrily speaks out.
Although Ji Yushi is not in the entertainment industry, he is Ji Yan's second brother. In the eyes of many netizens, his sudden statement was a sign of his dissatisfaction with Wen Xiang's fans' attitude towards Ji Yan.
"Isn't this ridiculous? Wen Xiang himself admitted that he left the 'The Long Song of Lament' production team for personal reasons, but he deliberately dragged Ji Yan into it. Did Ji Yan even acknowledge you?"
"Ji Yan and DW Entertainment were very straightforward, while Hege Entertainment and Wen Xiang were more hesitant. When the parties involved speak so frankly, fans will naturally think that their idol's role has been stolen. Isn't this deliberately misleading?"
However, what fans are unaware of is that Ji Yan was not hurt by Wen Xiang at all; on the contrary, he was disgusted by the term "elder brother" used in media reports.
Is Ji Yushi sick?
He didn't say anything when Ji Ruan was being scolded before, so why is he spouting nonsense today?
However, Ji Yushi's appearance did help Ji Yan shift the focus of attention, and the issue suddenly shifted from the conflict between Ji Yan and Wen Xiang to the conflict between Ji Yushi and Wen Xiang's fans.
...
Ji Yan remained focused on filming in the "Long Song of Tears" crew. Although he only stayed for a few days, he thoroughly enjoyed watching the scenes between the main actors. His filming experience was accumulated in "I, Nameless" and "Young Love Poems." Without formal training, he was essentially just letting loose. Moreover, the filming period for "I, Nameless" was short, and there weren't many actors in the "Young Love Poems" crew for him to refer to.
The cast of "The Long Ballad" is different. The confrontation between Zhang Guoren and Wang Jian, who plays Ji Xie, is extremely exciting. With a single action and a single glance, the insidious cunning of the powerful is completely revealed.
While they were filming, Ji Yan was never idle. He was analyzing the plot with his notebook in hand and thinking about the details in the films of these senior actors. He felt that he was even more tired than when he was filming.
Ji Yan always felt that he was a novice in the acting industry. Although he was nominated for the Chang Kong Award and successfully passed Zhu Shuguang's test, there was still a huge gap between him and truly excellent actors.
He was busy with his studies and didn't have time to deal with Wen Xiang's affairs. Ye Ying also told him to focus on filming on set and that she would handle the online public opinion.
After the main scenes of Qin Xin's character were filmed, Ji Yan learned that Wen Xiang and the "Chang Ge Dang Ku" crew had been trending on social media several times in the past few days. Wen Xiang's fans were making a fuss about seeking justice for their idol, and no matter what content the "Chang Ge Dang Ku" crew posted, it was always Wen Xiang's fans controlling the comments.
"Are you there? Please explain why Wen Xiang was replaced without reason."
"We demand that the production team give Wen Xiang an explanation."
"Hardworking actors deserve respect. Don't play dumb, thank you."
"The production team could at least apologize to Wen Xiang, but since Wen Xiang left the 'The Long Ballad' production team, the production team has not apologized, responded, or explained. What exactly did Wen Xiang do wrong?"
Ji Yan's only feeling about this matter was that Wen Xiang's fans were absolutely true to him.
However, perhaps because he also has a saintly side to his personality, Ji Yan didn't really dislike Wen Xiang's fans.
He debuted through an idol talent show and was also a member of an idol group, so he understands the fans' mentality very well. To outsiders, the fans' behavior seems silly, or even a little pitiful, but for the fans, idols are indeed their faith, the embodiment of their dreams, and even their youth.
Even if fans eventually stop supporting their idols, it's difficult for them to mock or insult the idols they once idolized like ordinary people do, because that would be tantamount to denying their youth. In short, after all, they once liked them.
This is actually the reason why "Wings" have been fighting. They don't want to be described as "not worth it" when fans look back on them in the future. They hope to be loved by fans openly and honestly, and preferably loved with pride.
Some idols might not care, but Ji Yan and his group care a lot about it.
Wen Xiang's fans are checking in almost every day. In fact, they no longer expect the "Chang Ge Dang Ku" production team to respond. They just feel sorry for Wen Xiang from the bottom of their hearts.
However, to the fans' surprise, a week later, the production team of "The Long Ballad" actually released a long statement.
"The scenes for the role of Qin Xin in this drama have been filmed by Ji Yan. We thank Ji Yan for his timely help and hard work. In order not to affect Ji Yan's filming, the production team has not responded to the matter of Qin Xin being replaced. The specific details of the replacement are explained below."
The production team stated at the outset that Ji Yan's role as Qin Xin was a last-minute replacement, and netizens naturally guessed what would follow.
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