10 Actors Who Were Removed From TV Shows In 2021

10. Zhao Wei - Removed From Everything

"Cancel culture" may be blamed for everything in the West, but Zhao Wei’s case proves that extreme censorship is much more than deplatforming and negatively trending on Twitter. The billionaire Chinese actress wasn’t just blacklisted from the industry, she was scrubbed from the internet.

Zhao Wei, also known as Vicky Zhao, is one of the most popular actresses in China. Her first major role was in My Fair Princess, the most popular Chinese drama of all time. She made her film debut in the 2001 comedy Shaolin Soccer and has only grown popular ever since.

Then in August China’s entertainment regulator, the National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA), ordered all streaming sites in the country to remove everything with her face in it. Her TV shows like Chinese Restaurant and even My Fair Princess were removed from every streaming site in China. Every film or TV show she has starred in was pulled down. Even interviews were not spared. Her producing and directing credits were also expunged from all movie information sites. Any evidence of her entire career as an actress was purged from the Chinese internet. It's like she never existed.

The NRTA didn’t give any reason for blacklisting Zhao. The agency just ordered her entire filmography purged, and she has subsequently been recast for all upcoming projects.