'Too young, too naive': Ex-Miss Hong Kong finalist told to lose weight by Eric Tsang, laughed at for body positivity

The Miss Hong Kong competition has a long and storied history, credited for the success of many young showbiz hopefuls — from Maggie Cheung to Myolie Wu.

The pageant recently launched a global recruitment campaign for its 2023 edition, prompting 2022 finalist Wendy Lam to share her experience on Xiaohongshu.

The American national was the youngest finalist that year, aged 19, and recalled the long interview and catwalk stages to secure a spot in the competition.

She claimed she was told by TVB general manager and veteran actor Eric Tsang during an interview: "You're so fat, are you considering losing weight?"

Wendy wrote she got angry and retorted at the time: "Sorry, but I don't think there is any kind of bad body shape. I think both fat and thin people have their own beauty. Beauty comes from the heart, from self-confidence and self-love."

Despite her eloquent response, Wendy wrote that she was laughed at by the judges, which she said included TVB shareholders, and called "too young, too naive."

They also told her to lose 10kg in three months.

Wendy's mother had a positive spin on her encounter with the judges, telling her that Eric probably saw potential in her and found her good-looking to even ask her to lose weight.

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"I thought to myself, 'Asian body standards are too skewed', but still participated so as to not disappoint my mum," Wendy shared.

Netizens came to Wendy's defence in the comments.

"Even this is considered fat?" one user responded incredulously.

Another wrote: "The media instigates this warped sense of beauty, but they still criticised you for being naive."

"Wow girl. You've always been beautiful and confident," a comment read.

'Her dream was pinned onto me'

Being in the Miss Hong Kong pageant was not Wendy's aspiration but her mother's, she explained in her post.

"Her dream was pinned onto me," Wendy wrote. "My mother knew that I didn't like beauty pageants at that time."

"When I was just admitted to college and hadn't even graduated from high school, she secretly signed me up."

Wendy eventually secured a place in the top 20, but withdrew from the pageant to pursue a university education instead.

She currently lives in the US and studies at Tufts University.

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drimac@asiaone.com

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