A controversial move that has earned a lot of rebuke especially on social media, a Chinese reality TV show has replaced images of a Chinese actress dressed in a burqa and headscarf with a cartoon cactus. The actress Ning Jing was in Dubai and wore the traditional headscarf while shooting for the reality show - ‘Divas Hit The Road’. Each shot in which she is shown wearing the headscarf, the garment has been replaced with cartoon images.
‘Divas Hit the Road’ airs on Hunan TV and features several young celebrities who travel overseas on a limited budget.
The latest episode of the show became controversial as viewers who couldn't help but notice that the body of actress Ning Jing was inexplicably replaced with an image of a cartoon cactus. The cactus obscured the actress's body even as she walked about, her voice still fully audible.
When Ning was filmed sitting down, her hair was replaced by a pink helmet or covered with a ‘Dragon Ball Z-esque’ hairstyle.
According to a report in the Shanghaiist, #NingjingBlurred became a trending topic on Weibo, the Chinese version of Twitter, as people went online to discuss the censoring of the actress, who is not Muslim.
The post has received nearly 30 million clicks since it appeared on Sunday.
Netizens questioned the comical editing and speculated that it was due to Ning's head. The show's production team, masters of subtlety, later confirmed that they had covered Ning, to avoid the show from being cut down.
A spokesman for Hunan TV, which aired the programme, told 163.com the cartoon images were used because 'her clothes touch the religious topic, hence are not suitable to broadcast'.
Some users noted the careful attention to detail taken by the production team, as in one shot the sunglasses worn by one of the other celebrities had even been edited to reflect the cartoon cactus.