Liu and Ha attended a Bvlgari high-jewelry event in Shanghai on the evening of Sept. 7.
After the event, Ha shared a photo showing herself standing alongside Liu and Burdese. Liu’s Instagram account later posted the same image but cropped out Ha, leaving only Liu and the Bvlgari executive in the frame.
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Ho Ngoc Ha’s full photo from the event (left) alongside the cropped version posted on Liu Yifei’s account (right). Photos courtesy of the artists’ Instagram accounts, via Weibo. |
The difference between the two versions quickly drew widespread attention online.
By noon on Sept. 9, a topic on Chinese social media platform Weibo had attracted more than 110 million views and tens of thousands of comments, rising to No. 1 on the platform’s trending list.
Some users went to Liu’s Instagram page and accused her of disrespecting Ha.
They circulated videos showing the two women greeting each other at previous events, arguing that Liu already knew Ha and that cropping her from a photo they had posed for together could be seen as hurtful, particularly as both had been invited by Bvlgari.
Some critics called the move unprofessional and inappropriate for an international luxury-brand event.
Others defended Liu, saying the two women were not close and that she was free to decide who appeared in photos shared on her personal account.
“They aren’t close, so why would she suddenly post a photo of her?” one user wrote. “Who knows whether the other person would be comfortable with that?”
Another commented: “I actually think cropping the photo showed respect for the other person’s right to control her image.”
Liu later removed the cropped photo from her account, while Ha left her original post unchanged.
Ha played down the controversy, describing the incident as “normal” and saying she had met Liu only once or twice. The two knew each other but were not close, she added.
Chinese blogger Yu Xiaoxiao said the episode highlighted a tension between social etiquette and personal freedom.
She said people are entitled to decide what they post on their own accounts and that cropping someone they barely know from an image is not unusual. However, she added that once people have agreed to pose together for a photo, sharing the full image may be the more considerate choice.
Ha, 41, is a prominent figure in Vietnam’s music, film and fashion industries and has sometimes been dubbed the “Kylie Jenner of Vietnam.”
Born in Hue, she began her career as a model before moving into music.
In 2004, she released her debut album “24 Gio 7 Ngay” (24 Hours a Day, Seven Days a Week), produced by musician Huy Tuan.
Known to fans as Ha Ho, she later gained wider recognition through collaborations with composer Duc Tri, including “Dem Nghe Tieng Mua” (Listening to the Rain at Night), “Giac Mo Chi La Giac Mo” (A Dream Is Only a Dream) and “Va Em Da Yeu” (And I Fell in Love).
She has also recorded numerous songs by Nguyen Hong Thuan and Duong Khac Linh.
Liu has worked in film and television for more than two decades and is one of the most commercially prominent stars in Chinese-language entertainment.
She represents numerous international and Chinese brands, including Louis Vuitton, Bvlgari, Tissot, Shiseido, Huawei and Meituan.
She reportedly earns around 25 million yuan (US$3.7 million) per brand-ambassador contract, according to Yahoo.
