In South Korean, stalker fans are known as sasaeng fan (사생팬). These fans would obsessively stalk and violate the privacy of their idol, crossing the line severely between an idol and a fan. Although the K-pop industry is notorious for obsessive fan behaviours, it is not the only industry in which celebrities come across stalker fans.
Ever since his rise in fame in the ancient Chinese film, “The Untamed,” Chinese actor Wang Yibo (王一博) has been a constant victim of sasaeng fans. These insane fans will apparently harass him to the point where his schedule and rest time would be severely affected.
Recently, the actor had one of the most ridiculous obsessive fan behaviour. According to a netizen who was on the same flight as Yibo, they witnessed a crazy fan of the actor confessing to him and fighting with the other passengers on the plane. The cabin crew eventually reported the situation to the police. Photos of this fan were also taken, and have since been circulating online.
“I heard that that sasaeng fan even knelt before Wang Yibo before boarding the plane. She said, ‘Your Highness, please accept my respect as your concubine! I love you, I love you!’” However, throughout all this, Wang Yibo was wearing his earphones the whole time and did not give any reaction.
According to rumours, there was also a woman who claimed herself to be Wang Yibo’s ‘fiancée’ in the picture. This woman was really resentful at the sasaeng fan and fought with her, causing a huge commotion on the plane.
On 27th May 2023, the actor’s entertainment company posted a solemn statement in regards to this incident. They said that many fans had been invading the privacy of Yibo and has caused a severe impact on his work. It’s gotten so bad that even the daily lives of the actor’s family and friends are now affected too. Other than addressing the above matter, Yuehue Entertainment mentioned of another incident when shooting was disrupted due to crazy fans causing a scene.
“Surrounding the artist in public, repeatedly stalking him onto his flights, chasing after cars, and picking fights in cabins… All of these have disrupted the social order. The above-mentioned illegitimate behavior has severely infringe on Mr. Wang Yibo’s privacy rights, causing great harm to his safety.”
The company also hopes that fans would stop obtaining the artist’s schedules to stalk him. They urge fans to stop “stalking the artist onto flights, chasing behind cars, hanging around hotels and residences, pretending to be part of the production crew, and any other forms of harassment.”
“Thank you everyone for your love and interest towards Mr. Wang Yibo. Let’s work hard together to leave a positive impact on the society.”
