Most would be praised for such a transformation.
Koreaboo
4 minutes ago
Chinese actress and comedian Jia Ling gained mixed reactions after her huge weight loss for a role. Jia Ling stars in the movie YOLO, which was written and directed by her.
The poster for “YOLO” | CDrama/Reddit
YOLO is about an overweight woman, Leying, who loses weight through boxing training while finding herself and learning to love herself through the sport. Even before the film was released, it gained attention after the lead actress, Jia Ling, lost 50kg for the role. She went from 100kg to 50kg within a year for the role.
Jia Ling at the start of the film | CDrama/Reddit Jia Ling at the end of the film | CDrama/Reddit
Photos from the movie became a hot topic on the Korean forum theqoo. The photos showed the dramatic transformation within the film from the opening scenes…
| theqoo | theqoo
To her training, which cemented the huge amount of weight loss Jia Ling went through.
| theqoo
South China Morning Post looked at the reaction of Chinese citizens to the weight loss. At first, they shared positive comments, including one middle school teacher who saw the movie encouraging her to help her lose weight by working out. Another fan praised the comedian for losing weight with strength and muscle rather than baiyoushou, which is used to describe “light skin, childlike young appearance, and slim figure.” She was praising Jia Ling for losing weight healthily rather than being as skinny as possible to fit the standards of beauty.
| theqoo
Even Koreans seemed to be praising the actress, with comments like “wow” and “that’s awesome” appearing on theqoo.
Yet, not everyone was as positive about Jia Ling’s weight loss. In particular, in the same article when speaking to netizens, one person hit back at the “miracle” and the impact on her daughter. In particular, the 60-year-old from Beijing emphasized that she didn’t want Jia Ling to be a role model for her daughter.
[Jia] has a professional team to help her to lose weight and she can earn so much money through this process – for our ordinary people, losing weight is a much more difficult, and sometimes even costly, process.
— OP’s thoughts on the weight loss
| theqoo
SCMP also shared that even before the movie was released, it reignited a debate about body image. Along with fans sharing how unhealthy such a huge drop in weight is, the publication pointed out how it ties in with having to conform to weight “stereotypes,” even using an example of star Huang Yi’s methods to look thinner.
An extract from “SCMP” | South China Morning Post
It is believed that the movie isn’t centered around the weight loss of Jia Ling’s character, but it’s not surprising that such a transformation has become a hot topic after the film’s release. You can read more about the transformation below.
Popular Actress Drops 50kg In 6 Months For Latest Movie Role