I'd rather lose in a fair competition: Andie Chen on calls for Chen Hanwei to step down from Star Awards 2026

One of the more persistent conversations in the lead-up to the 2026 Star Awards has been the Best Actor award.

Not necessarily for who is nominated, but for who isn't.

Xie Shaoguang, seen as a hot favourite for the award, was not part of the nominees.

According to media reports, Xie reportedly declined to participate in the nomination process and will not attend the awards show.

While reactions to this news were divided, attention soon turned to the other veteran nominee on the night, Chen Hanwei.

The seven-time Best Actor winner is up for his role in the same show as Xie.

Some online commenters called for Chen to step down.

According to 8 Days, citing his interview with Shin Min Daily News, Chen said he would discuss with the company about the nomination.

He noted that he is an actor, and his responsibility is to do justice to his roles and the audience who support him.

Fair

Andie Chen, who has been nominated for Best Actor before, weighed in on the topic.

In an Instagram post, Andie Chen wondered why people were asking Chen to "step down from Star Awards".

He noted that an award show has one job:

"... to recognise the best performance of the year. That’s what gives it meaning."

He further went on to say that the conversation should be about "fairness and transparency in the process", not about "who should or shouldn’t be in the running".

He added:

"Because if that changes — the award stops meaning what it’s supposed to mean."

And he used his own experience to underline why he felt strongly about this.

"I’ve been nominated many times and never won. And honestly, I’d still rather lose in a fair competition than win in one that isn’t."

Image from Andie Chen and Chen Hanwei/IG