Song Yuchi collapsed on variety show for 4 minutes, netizens worried about a repeat of the Gao Yixiang tragedy.

Recently, Chinese member of the South Korean girl group (G)I-DLE, Song Yuqi, participated in the recording of a new season of the Chinese variety show “Keep Running.” However, during the filming on the evening of the 27th, a video showed her collapsing midway through a run and remaining on the ground for nearly 4 minutes without getting up, causing “Song Yuqi injured” to trend on Weibo.

On March 27, a clip from the recording of the variety show “Keep Running” circulated on Chinese social media platform Weibo. In the video, Song Yuqi, a cast member of the program, was seen wearing a blue sports suit and collapsing on the ground after sprinting in the marathon segment, appearing to be exhausted, and remaining on the ground for almost 4 minutes. At that time, there were no staff members seen immediately approaching to assess the situation, and the nearby cameraman continued filming as usual.

After a while, other guests at the scene, Fan Chengcheng and Meng Ziyi, noticed the situation and went to check on Song Yuqi. The video has raised concerns among many fans, even leading them to recall the tragic passing of entertainer Godfrey Gao during the recording of a Chinese variety show in 2019.

In response to the attention from netizens, Song Yuqi later took to Weibo to reassure her fans, saying not to worry and explaining that she was just physically exhausted after giving her all in the sprint, thus needed to rest on the ground temporarily. She even made a humorous remark saying, “lying down for four minutes just to prove that the floor is more comfortable than a bed”; the show’s production team also released two statements to debunk rumors, emphasizing that Song Yuqi was not injured.

However, many netizens remained skeptical, pointing out the perceived unreasonable program schedule where participants had to pull a tractor during the day and then take part in a marathon race at night, leading to excessive physical exertion.

Furthermore, the incident of an entertainer collapsing during the taping of a competitive show inevitably brings to mind the tragic case from 6 years ago when 35-year-old Taiwanese entertainer Godfrey Gao participated in the reality show “Chase Me.” Back then, after recording continuously for 17 hours, he tragically passed away. In the moments leading to his collapse, he had exclaimed, “I can’t do it anymore,” but the production crew mistook it as part of the show’s effects and continued filming him; only when they realized something was wrong did they finally provide assistance before rushing him to the hospital, where he later succumbed.

It is worth noting that both “Keep Running” and “Chase Me” are produced by Zhejiang TV. Therefore, following the incident where Song Yuqi collapsed for 4 minutes, the television station once again faces public criticism.