Viral clip shows man apparently stopping Olympian Eileen Gu from leaving after a selfie in Beijing

• A recent video shows a man seemingly trying to stop Olympic gold medalist Eileen Gu from leaving after they take a selfie together. 
• The athlete was out exercising with her mother in Beijing when the stranger asked for a photo. 
• The clip of their encounter, which has since gone viral, angered Chinese social media users, who called the man “rude.”
• “I am a loyal fan of Eileen Gu,” he explained in a video uploaded to Douyin after the encounter. “I didn’t try to stop her from leaving. There happened to be a vehicle coming when she tried to cross the road. I asked her to be mindful of road safety. I definitely didn’t intend to hold her back.”

A now-viral video shows a man seemingly trying to stop Olympic gold medalist skier Eileen Gu from leaving after they take a selfie together in Beijing.

The 18-year-old athlete, who often jogs around the city’s streets, was accompanied by her mother riding a bicycle at the time of the incident, which occurred on Chaoyang Road.

The man, who goes by Dong Bei Xing Ge on Douyin, received backlash on Chinese social media after the clip of his encounter with Gu became widely circulated online. 

Social media users criticized the man and called him “rude” for not letting the athlete walk away after she took a photo with him.

The man uploaded a video to Douyin on Monday and explained that he just wanted to remind Gu “to be mindful of road safety.” He also claimed that he asked Gu’s mother for permission before he took the selfie. 

“I am a loyal fan of Eileen Gu,” the man said. “I didn’t try to stop her from leaving. There happened to be a vehicle coming when she tried to cross the road. I asked her to be mindful of road safety. I definitely didn’t intend to hold her back.”

According to the man, he was excited after taking a selfie with the popular athlete. He then asked social media users to stop criticizing him about their interaction.

Gu, who won two gold medals and a silver medal at the Beijing Winter Olympics in February, is now a beloved celebrity in China. She is affectionately known to her fans as the “Snow Princess” and reportedly lets them take photos with her in public often.

Featured Image via 5-7集锦

Support our Journalism with a Contribution

Many people might not know this, but despite our large and loyal following which we are immensely grateful for, NextShark is still a small bootstrapped startup that runs on no outside funding or loans.

Everything you see today is built on the backs of warriors who have sacrificed opportunities to help give Asians all over the world a bigger voice.

However, we still face many trials and tribulations in our industry, from figuring out the most sustainable business model for independent media companies to facing the current COVID-19 pandemic decimating advertising revenues across the board.

We hope you consider making a contribution so we can continue to provide you with quality content that informs, educates and inspires the Asian community.
Even a $1 contribution goes a long way. Thank you for everyone’s support. We love you all and can’t appreciate you guys enough.