Tay Ping Hui facepalms after noisy moviegoer gets upset at him

There's a special place in hell for noisy moviegoers who ruin the experience for everyone else. And it seems that local actor Tay Ping Hui would agree.

Ping Hui, 48, recently took to Instagram to share an unpleasant encounter that he had during a screening of Chinese animation film Ne Zha.

He wrote: "Behind me sat a lady in her 60s and a teen who was probably her son. The moment the movie began, she incessantly made untimely comments and talked as though she was in her living room, totally oblivious to the other paying moviegoers around her."

After putting up with this for almost an hour, Ping Hui said he "turned around and gave her a single 'shh' to remind her that there were other people trying to watch the movie".

Let's just say she didn't take it well.

According to Ping Hui, the lady gave him the death stare until he left the cinema before chasing him down and confronting him.

Ironically, she accused him of being rude, saying, "Just because you're an actor you think you can be arrogant and rude is it?"

"I really don't think this has anything to do with me being an actor. I was telling you as a person," he responded.

Grasping at straws, the lady retorted, "Other people were talking, then why didn't you tell them to shut up? Why didn't you tell the child in front of me to keep quiet?"

Ping Hui said that he walked away at this point, realising that the woman was "a lost cause".

Naturally, fans expressed their support for Ping Hui, slamming the noisy moviegoer.

Photo: Screengrab/Instagram

The moral of the story? Just be quiet when you're in the cinema. You're likely to be shushed whether or not there are any A-list actors around.

Although Ping Hui has been expanding his acting career in China in recent years, he is currently in town to film Mind's Eye, a Toggle series.

kimberlylim@asiaone.com