Many of us are familiar with "auntie" as a common term of endearment for mature ladies.

Some, however, may not be as fond of the term, seeing its (not so) subtle implications on their age.

A fan of Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi learned it the hard way.

On Jan. 6, the Chinese fan shared his story about how he was kicked out of the official fan club group chat on social media platform Weibo.

The fan had left the following comment on Zhang's Weibo page on Dec. 19, 2020:

"Auntie, do you still remember what your profession is???? 😭"

The comment alludes to the 41-year-old actress's recent lack of acting gigs.

He later received a system notification informing him that Zhang had flagged his comment in order to remove it and block him.

As a result, he was kicked out of the group chat and his Weibo account was suspended from commenting for seven days.

The message included further instructions for him to resolve this issue should he wish to do so.

The fan then posted a screenshot of the system notification on to his Weibo account, saying,

"I've been so worried. I accept the inevitable consequence of being kicked out due to my careless words. I will continue to follow her news quietly in the future. 🌹"

Netizens' responses to the situation

Some Chinese netizens who found out about the situation were understanding of Zhang's action against the fan.

Some of the comments that QQ highlighted in their article include:

"I don't think the problem is with the term 'auntie', the question itself is very annoying, who asked for your opinion"

"If there is no script that she fancies, she'd have to take on some variety shows to earn some money to raise her children. There's no need to make a big deal out of it"

"For someone of Zhang Ziyi's age, it should not be strange to be called 'auntie'. It's not a term of humiliation, it is true that Zhang Ziyi hasn't had many gigs these days, perhaps she's too sensitive."

Fan removes original post

To avoid the situation from blowing up further, the fan chose to take down his initial Weibo post.

He then uploaded a new post to clarify his stance:

"Indeed, my comment has been removed and I have been blocked. However, seeing how Zhang's haters and other netizens are discussing about this issue negatively, I have decided to remove the original post. To love or not to love is every person's choice, even without showing deep concern in the future. I have chosen to continue loving [her], since I have decided to love [her] the first time, I will do it for the rest of my life. 🌹🌹🌹 I look forward to Zhang's new projects."

Zhang's manager contacts fan

However, this entire situation has turned out to be a misunderstanding.

According to QQ, a representative from Zhang's team has clarified that the blocking situation is all a misunderstanding, but the fan does not mind at all.

In fact, the fan himself has explained in a comment that he had spoken to Zhang's agent:

"[Zhang's] agent have phoned and informed me, 'It's all a misunderstanding!' I would still like to clarify my point that it's got nothing to do with whether it's a misunderstanding or not because I have loved [her] for the past 15 years. I also feel very apologetic that my initial comment was inconsiderate and would like to emphasise this — since I have decided to love [her] the first time, I will do it for the rest of my life. 🌹"

It appears that Zhang can do no wrong in this loyal fan's eyes.

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Top Image via @zhangziyi_official on Instagram