Source: Yahoo News SG



Netizens warn Zhang Ziyi: Be more vigilant in future!

Sexually provocative photos of Zhang Ziyi on the Caribbean island of St. Barts with fiancé Vivi Nevo have been duplicated and posted on many websites and forums. Media from all over Asia is even paying rocket high prices for the series of photos. Before the frenzy, each photo costs just a few hundreds; overnight, the price tenfold to thousands with the entire series costing over ten thousands. With regards to the incident, Zhang is said to be furious and has been trying to handle the crisis with her manager.

According to a spokesman from the LA-based paparazzi agency which took the photos, Zhang's photos have always lacked Western market even though she has been titled an international superstar; support came mainly from Asia. However, she is considered to be one of the most popular Asian female stars and price of her photos is comparable to that of Maggie Cheung. According to sources, dating and intimate photos of Zhang and Cheung with their partners usually can be priced at a few hundred dollars just for one shot. However the beach photos which showed Zhang and Vivi in sexually suggestive poses managed to surge to over thousand dollars. Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore media are said to be purchasing the photos at all costs.

Spokesman of the agency also revealed that they have earned more than hundred thousand dollars from Zhang's photos just on Jan 5 itself; an amount exceeding their expectations. Judging from the hot response from various media, the agency is expected to be earning even more.

According to Chinese media, Zhang was shocked and terribly upset to learn that she had been secretly photographed and even went online to search for the photos immediately after she found out about the incident. Zhang expressed that she was on a holiday with her fiancé, is part of their normal lifestyle and definitely privacy. When asked if Zhang will take legal actions against the paparazzi, her manager simply said, "If there is any developments in this case, we'll definitely inform everyone." A lawyer from a Beijing law firm said that this incident has breached Zhang and boyfriend's privacy and she reserved the rights to seek legal recourse.

However, a Chinese photojournalist who has been on several assignments with Zhang felt the photos did not invade the latter's privacy. "Even though it's a private beach, her behavior could be seen by anyone else who's on the beach. She should have considered any consequence for her actions," he adds, "this piece of news is actually positive for her. First of all, she is a fashionable woman. Secondly, she is sunbathing and kissing her fiancé; what's wrong with that? I think she is representative of Chinese new urban female's image."

Some netizens criticized Zhang for her poor figure, describing her to have "small boobs and no butt". They also reprimanded her for "bringing shame to Asian women". However, majority of the Netizens were sympathetic. "Zhang Ziyi thought few would recognize her in Western countries and she can truly relax herself. Who knows the paparazzi are everywhere. They took photographs of her when she was least wary," one said and warned Zhang, "to be more vigilant in future". Some also feel that since Zhang and Vivi are engaged couples, their intimate behavior is absolutely natural.

According to sources, Zhang has returned to Mainland and started filming for her new movie. Movie investors have also visited the set and showed their support for her with regards to the incident. At the same time, international brands which Zhang is endorsing expressed that photos are reflective of her private life and has no conflict with their work.