With live streaming becoming the latest online trend, it’s no wonder that many celebrities across the world have begun using such a platform to engage with their audience.
And it’s no different for local celebrities such as Wang Lei, a veteran getai singer and actor who has recently made a name for himself on Facebook due to his eccentric and amusing live streams.
But it’s clear that you can’t please everyone in life, and Wang is no different.
Over the past few months, the 61-year-old has been criticised widely by some for his behaviour during his live streams which many may view as distasteful or crude.
And if you’ve watched a live stream of Wang’s before, you’ll know that his live streams are often accompanied by a few mouthfuls of vulgarities here and there.
Ok, maybe not just a few.
But it seems like Wang has his own way of dealing with what some may perceive to be a foul mouth.
Recently, Wang appeared on Streamers Go Live, a Channel 8 programme that pits different live stream celebrities against each other, as a mentor to share his experience with live streaming.
When talking to the contestants, which include celebrities such as Channel 8 artiste Yang Guang Ke Le and actress Xixi Lim, he shared how he shot to fame when the COVID-19 pandemic first emerged in 2020 after he tried live streaming after his friend encouraged him to.
Apart from saying that he sold 1,500 fish during his very first live stream and struggled to record the orders by hand with his wife, he also touched on his gratitude towards his wife and how he realised that scolding viewers during live streams helped “improve” his popularity as a live streamer.
As for his vulgarities, here’s what he has to say.
Spewing Vulgarities Led to Many Negative Comments, But Some Don’t Know the Entire Context
When addressing the negative comments that he received due to spewing vulgarities during his live streams, Wang told the contestants as well as hosts Lee Teng and Joanne Peh that he is aware of how some viewers may perceive his behaviour but added that some incidents were taken out of context.
For example, he said a vulgarity when singing a Hokkien in celebration with his live stream partner in France after they managed to raise RM750,000 for the floods in Malaysia.
However, the clips of him joking around ended up being cut out of the entire video, causing many misunderstandings amongst audience members who did not know the actual context behind the whole live stream.
He also touched on how there were misleading article headings with regards to these incidents, and that these headlines left him very hurt.
“You can talk about how I make sexual jokes and all, but please don’t attack or slander me,” a teary-eyed Wang said.
How Wang Deals With Haters
As for how he deals with the haters, Wang shared that he blocks all fake accounts as well as those who rain personal attacks on him.
On the other hand, he added that he will accept negative opinions if they are valid and mean well and advised the streamers to do the same.
Apart from comments about revealing attire, he also raised smoking during live streams as examples of comments that mean well.
He then said that he truly acknowledges and accepts criticism from people who say that he curses a lot during his live streams.
Admits that Not Making Sexual Jokes and Cursing Will Affect Live Streams, Has Tried Not Cursing Before
Afterwards, host Lee Teng asked Wang if the viewership and sales for his live streams would be affected if he did not make any sexual jokes or curse during the live stream.
To that, Wang took a deep breath and smiled before saying a direct “Yes”.
Ke Le then chipped in as well to point out that Wang tried doing so before after being criticised widely for his jokes and vulgarities last year.
After persisting to not curse during his live streams and conducting “serious” ones, the number of people who viewed his live streams fell from over 10,000 to around 3,000.
This prompted him to start cursing during his live streams again, to the hosts’ and participants’ amusement.
Wang then compared his behaviour during his live streams to that of a clown and said that he is “acting out a show” for the audience, and that in return he just hopes that the viewers will purchase the things that he sells during his live streams.
However, it seems like such behaviour no longer feels “ideal” for Wang Lei himself.
Trying to Change and Reduce Number of Vulgarities Spoken
When replying to Lee Teng’s query about whether he intends to change his image, he revealed that he is trying to minimise the number of vulgarities that he mentions during his live streams.
The reason?
He recounted how he played games on mobile devices with his grandchildren when his family travelled to Malaysia for holiday.
However, he cursed in English when an advertisement popped up in the middle of the game out of habit.
After realising that his grandchild, who is around five years old, heard him curse, he was left in shock and realised that he does not want to expose his grandchildren to vulgarities at such a young age.
As for what plans he has if his popularity decreases greatly after he stops cursing during live streams, Wang responded by saying that he has begun teaching mentees and hopes that they will carry on in the industry.
He then added that he believes that he is a negative example and hopes to teach his mentees to not follow his behaviour during their own live streams.
Featured Image: YouTube (Entertainment – Mediacorp)