'You've become so fake': Patricia Mok spurned by fans when she stopped speaking her mind

This actress has her fans hooked on her brand of hard-hitting truths.

In an interview with Shin Min Daily News on Sunday (July 24), Patricia Mok revealed that her attempts at changing her personality have caused her to fall out of favour with fans.

"I went through so much hardship [to change myself], but fans didn't like me anymore," the 50-year-old said. "Some fans even explicitly stated, 'You've become so fake!'"

The showbiz veteran is known for her roles in comedy pieces where she frequently acts as outspoken and loud-mouthed characters.

Outside of her reel characters, Patricia's personality is also similarly outspoken and carefree and she maintains her frankness when conversing with others.

However, it garnered some criticism from those who felt she was offensive.

She explained: "People think that I let my ego balloon up because I became famous. But when I see a script and want to make changes to it, it's because I want to pad up the story or add some funny elements.

"Instead, my actions caused controversy and some have even said, 'You think you're a scriptwriter now?'

"After listening to a lot of criticism, I decided I would change and pretend to be the good guy. Even if I saw any kind of injustice, I wouldn't open my mouth to say anything. I'd just stick to what I was told to do."

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Patricia told Shin Min that she behaved like this for two years. But in that period, she was unable to gain the approval of her fans, instead earning their ire for being "fake".

When Patricia left Mediacorp and signed on to another talent management agency, she decided to revert to her usual self amid her growing dissatisfaction with staying silent.

Although she has returned to her old personality, Patricia also explained that things have changed for her.

"If the truth really makes sense, then it's alright [to be outspoken] since it's not like you're scolding them without reason," she said.

"Also, people will change when they get old. In the past, my tone of speech was aggressive, but now, with the same sentence, my tone is more relaxed."

Patricia is currently filming Mark Lee's upcoming Lunar New Year film What The Heist in Malaysia, and will play a "beauty queen" who "isn't very beautiful" and has a crush on Mark's character. 

READ ALSO: 'We acted until we were exhausted': Xiang Yun's new drama character has schizophrenia and dementia

khooyihang@asiaone.com