Gillian Chung splurges over $8,000 on handsome young livestreamer

Now that Hong Kong actress and Cantopop Twins' member Gillian Chung is back in Hong Kong from overseas filming, she's stuck in a 14-day self-isolation.

Except, there's not much one can do within four walls.

She's tried posting videos of herself working out at home on Douyin — China's version of Tiktok, though her branded bags caught the attention of viewers instead — but more recently, she's been spotted doing more than just producing videos on the app.

Eagle-eyed netizens spotted Gillian hanging around the comments section of a Douyin user's livestream past midnight on Tuesday (March 31).

They then discovered, not only was she one of the livestreamer's administrators, she had also gifted him a total of 41,600 yuan ($8,360) to date, including 20,000 yuan at a time just for a song request.

The livestreamer in question is Yu Yanlong, a handsome 19-year-old who had trained under South Korea's SM Entertainment and also appeared on a Chinese variety show last October. His appearance earned him a wave of fans, notably Chinese celeb Xie Na, who was the host of the show.

Gillian's actions came under public scrutiny — netizens accused her of using her husband's money to pay for "handsome boys".

She responded afterwards, clarifying that she follows other users on the app and wasn't sneaking behind her husband.

"I have an account, too. Now that I'm under quarantine, I thought I'd figure out how to use Douyin."

As for the gift of 20,000 yuan?

She explained Yu had been in a livestream battle with another user, and she had wanted to show her support.

"Another artist asked why I didn't buy a gift, since these presents are meant to help them win the battle. That's why I used 20,000 yuan to buy gifts to show my support," she added.

She also took the chance to clarify that she had gifted the other livestreamers in the battle, which included both males and females, too.

Once Yu claimed his victory, Gillian requested a song from him and headed off to bed.

rainercheung@asiaone.com