On July 10th, mainland Chinese star Zhang Yixing (Lay), who debuted with the popular South Korean boy band EXO, performed in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and jokingly exclaimed “my neck hurts” during the concert. Interestingly, it was also his mother’s birthday that day. He celebrated her on stage but accidentally said “my mom gave birth to me today” instead of properly congratulating her, turning it into a celebration for himself. The audience burst into laughter at his innocent mistake.
In April, Zhang Yixing celebrated his 12th debut anniversary and released his first all-English album “Step”. He embarked on a world tour with the same name and made his fourth stop in Kuala Lumpur on July 10th.
In the beginning of the concert, Zhang Yixing, who was born in the Year of the Sheep, rode in on a sheep while performing his hip-hop style song “Sheep”. He then started playing with puns, asking the audience, “Do you know why I brought a sheep here?” Fans eagerly responded with “Riding a sheep is cool!” He continued with another pun, saying, “Please allow me to ‘Lay’ (pronounced the same as ‘tired’) down for a bit.” He then casually lay down on the stage and interacted with the fans.
Coincidentally, Kuala Lumpur concert day also happened to be Zhang Yixing’s mother’s birthday. He celebrated her on stage but mistakenly said “my mom gave birth to me today” instead of acknowledging her birthday, unknowingly giving himself a celebration instead. Despite the puzzled fans shouting from the audience, trying to correct Zhang Yixing by saying “That’s not it” or “You said it wrong”, he remained oblivious to his mistake until the very end, causing the entire venue to erupt in laughter.
Zhang Yixing, 32 years old, won a defamation lawsuit against a person named Yang a few years ago. Although the court ruled in his favor, Zhang Yixing chose not to claim any compensation from the defendant. This decision was made out of compassion as the defendant’s father was suffering from an illness and their family was struggling financially. This act of kindness from Zhang Yixing was widely praised by netizens.
According to reports from Chinese media outlets like Sina, the court’s judgment revealed that the defendant, a woman surnamed Yang, had posted defamatory and vulgar content on her personal microblog, including malicious claims such as “Zhang Yixing will die violently on the street tonight”. The court ultimately ordered the defendant to pay Zhang Yixing a compensation of 50,000 yuan (RMB), including 40,000 yuan for mental anguish and 10,000 yuan for legal expenses.