Fashion Brand Employee Fired For Calling Liu Yifei “Slightly Chubby”

Let this story be a reminder that you should always be careful of what you post online.

Recently, a sales staff of Chinese fashion brand Le Fame was fired for calling actress Liu Yifei “slightly chubby” online.

It all started when the staffer was interacting with a customer on her personal Xiaohongshu account, where she goes by the nickname Le Fame Nanjing Deji Plaza.

She praised the customer for looking great in a pair of jeans, saying: “You look better than Liu Yifei in them. Actually, Liu Yifei is a little chubby, so you wear them better.”

The jeans in question is this dark wash number featuring a cute bow on the back.

It gained popularity after Yifei, 37, wore them and became a hot seller.

The remarks angered the star’s fans, and the phrase "Liu Yifei slightly chubby" trended on Weibo.

Things escalated when fans noticed Le Fame had marketed the jeans as the "same style as Liu Yifei’s" online.

They accused the brand of profiting off Yifei’s name while allowing its staff to comment negatively on her body, triggering a wave of returns.

Le Fame promptly fired the staffer and issued a public apology: "We deeply regret and apologise for the negative impact caused by our employee's inappropriate remarks on her personal social media. We extend our sincerest apologies to consumers and fans.”

It also stressed that it would strengthen training for all employees to improve their moral standards, professional ethics, and service awareness.

The dismissal sparked mixed reactions online.

While some netizens supported the staff, saying she was simply stating her honest opinion, others felt that using a brand-affiliated account for personal opinions was unprofessional.

There were also some that criticised the brand for overreacting, questioning if firing the employee was truly necessary for such a minor issue.