After a staff member leaked the mobile footage of Hsu Nai-lin berating Tang Cong-sheng with profanity, both celebrities found themselves supported by different camps.
While virtually no one condones Hsu’s use of foul language, opinions are divided on whether Hsu had a right to be angry and whether Tang should reconsider his brand of variety show humor.
I want to pose two questions to you all: “Can you accept Hsu Nai-lin’s profanity?” and “Do you support Tang Cong-sheng’s excessive joking?” Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments below.
Personally, regarding the latter, some argue Tang’s jokes aren’t “over the top.” However, whenever I watch Genius Go Go Go, I find his recurring gags among the most repulsive of the regulars.
I truly struggle to understand how society in the Republic of China (R.O.C.) can accept humor based on denigrating someone’s character.
Hsu’s outbursts usually stem from a serious attitude toward program production. Conversely, Tang’s jokes often target human vulnerabilities. Language can sting; it can even kill.
Can we really blame Hsu for snapping? Sure, he may have a short fuse, but at least he didn’t blow up during the aired segment. If not for this selective leak, we would never have seen this side of the production.
Respect: The Foundation of Interaction
Back in high school, I had two close friends. One day on the bus after school, one friend (let’s call him A-De) kept repeatedly putting his hand on the other’s (A-Ji) head. Initially, A-Ji politely asked him to stop. A-De ignored him and continued the provocation in public.
A-Ji eventually swatted his hand away and issued a final warning, yet A-De seemed possessed by the need to keep pranking. Finally, A-Ji snapped, and they had a massive falling out. A-De never apologized, and they haven’t spoken since.
When interacting with others, all that is often required is a modicum of respect. Is that so difficult?
A television pundit, Wang Rui-de, posted on Facebook: “Regarding an entertainer like Hsu Nai-lin who publicly insults someone’s mother, I publicly call upon all Taiwanese to boycott his programs!”
Everyone knows that the subject of such profanity isn’t literally the person’s mother; it’s simply the linguistic structure of the curse words. If they weren’t crude, they wouldn’t be “foul language.”
The essence of this event lies in the cause of the dispute, not the specific choice of curse word.
While everyone has different triggers, both Tang and those attempting to pile on (like Wang Rui-de) have repeatedly brought “mothers” into the bullseye. I can only say that while the speaker may not have meant it literally, the listener (Tang) took it to heart. As for Wang Rui-de’s deliberate attempt to frame this as a targeted insult toward mothers—that kind of person isn’t even worth mentioning.
How can you reject the use of any word referencing a mother, yet spend your career denigrating the value of others’ existences? Hello?
One netizen claimed that “roasting” is part of the variety show effect and that Tang was being professional. However, looking at variety stars in Japan or South Korea, I rarely see this kind of “out-of-bounds” roasting. If you want to play dirty, throw the mud at yourself—that’s actually funny. To those who find these disgusting tropes in Taiwanese variety shows amusing: perhaps it’s time to reflect on where your values went wrong.