On July 10th, mainland Chinese star Zhang Yixing, who debuted from the popular Korean boy group EXO, performed in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and exclaimed “my neck hurts” during the concert. To add a humorous twist to the night, it happened to be Zhang Yixing’s mother’s birthday, and he celebrated her on stage. However, he mistakenly said, “My mom gave birth to me today,” turning the celebration into one for himself. Oblivious to his error, this slip of the tongue elicited laughter from the audience.
In commemoration of his 12th debut anniversary on April 8th, Zhang Yixing released his first all-English album “Step” and embarked on a world tour of the same name. The fourth stop of the tour took place in Kuala Lumpur on July 10th.
Zhang Yixing, who is born in the Year of the Sheep, made a grand entrance riding a sheep at the concert, performing his hip-hop style song “Sheep”. He then engaged in wordplay with the audience, asking, “Do you know why I brought a sheep here?” Fans enthusiastically responded, “Riding a sheep is cool!” Continuing the wordplay, he humorously said, “Please allow me to ‘Lay’ (sounds like ‘lie down’ in Chinese) for a bit,” before laying down on stage and conversing with the fans.
Amusingly, the Kuala Lumpur concert coincided with Zhang Yixing’s mother’s birthday. He celebrated her on stage, only to mistakenly say, “My mom gave birth to me today,” unintentionally turning the birthday celebration into one for himself. Despite some confused fans shouting from the audience, trying to correct him with “No, that’s not right” and “You misspoke”, Zhang Yixing remained unaware of his slip of the tongue, prompting laughter throughout the venue.
At the age of 32, Zhang Yixing had previously won a case against a certain individual for defamation. However, despite the court’s ruling in his favor, he chose not to claim any compensation from the defendant due to the latter’s father being ill and their family facing financial difficulties. This act of kindness by Zhang Yixing garnered praise from netizens for his warm-hearted gesture.
According to reports from Chinese media outlet Sina, the court’s judgment revealed that the defendant, a woman surnamed Yang, had spread defamatory and vulgar content on her personal microblog, including malicious rumors like “Zhang Yixing will die on the street tonight”. The court ruled in favor of Zhang Yixing, ordering the defendant to compensate him with 50,000 yuan, including 40,000 yuan for mental damages and 10,000 yuan for legal expenses.