Social media in China has exploded with outrage after a production vehicle from the film The Red Dance Shoes allegedly struck and killed a stray cat named “Little Tangerine” on the campus of Yunnan University.
According to multiple viral posts on Weibo, the incident occurred on October 22, while the crew starring Zhou Ye and Wang Ziqi was filming scenes at the university. A production vehicle was reportedly driving over the campus speed limit of 10 km/h when it accidentally hit the cat, which had been lovingly cared for by students for years.
Little Tangerine, the beloved campus cat killed by the film crew’s vehicle.
Within hours, the hashtag #TheRedDanceShoesCrewSpeedsAndKillsCat shot to the top of Weibo’s trending chart, amassing over one million interactions.
Students at Yunnan University flooded social media with photos of Little Tangerine, describing the cat as the “soul of the campus” who often napped outside the library and café. One post read:
“It was our school’s mascot. Everyone loved it. Now it’s gone because someone couldn’t follow the rules.”
Another viral comment questioned,
“There’s a clear 10 km/h speed limit sign on campus. How fast were they driving to kill an innocent animal?”
Public anger quickly escalated into a widespread call to boycott the film, with trending phrases like “Suspend filming,” “Investigate responsibility,” and “Ban the release of this movie.”
Heartbroken students even held a small funeral for Little Tangerine, placing its body in a cardboard box surrounded by white flowers. The touching image sparked even more grief and fury online.
In the early hours of October 23, the production team of The Red Dance Shoes issued an apology:
“Due to the driver’s negligence in not noticing a small animal near the vehicle, an unfortunate accident occurred. We deeply apologize and will take this as a serious lesson.”
However, the public deemed the statement insincere and evasive, criticizing it for failing to mention any accountability, compensation, or disciplinary action. Outrage intensified when filming continued as usual the following morning.
Wang Ziqi, the male lead of “The Red Dance Shoes.”
Weibo and Douban were soon flooded with angry comments:
“A life was lost because of carelessness. You think a short apology fixes that?”
“Cancel this film’s releases it’s tainted by cruelty.”
“Such hypocrisy. You film a ‘pure youth romance’ while killing an innocent creature.”
The Red Dance Shoes a coming-of-age romance about a dance-loving student (played by Zhou Ye) and her relationship with a classmate (played by Wang Ziqi) is currently filming at Yunnan University and scheduled for release in 2026.
However, the controversy has thrown the production into turmoil. Zhou Ye’s personal Weibo has been inundated with angry comments demanding she issue a public apology, despite her not being directly involved.
The incident follows earlier criticism of the crew for filming on campus without proper notification, causing noise and disrupting student activities.
Now, the death of Little Tangerine has become a symbol of public frustration over what many see as a lack of ethics and respect in China’s entertainment industry.
What began as a lighthearted youth film project has spiraled into a national scandal, with millions calling for accountability, suspension of filming, and even a nationwide ban on the movie’s release a message, they say, to remind filmmakers that “art can never come at the cost of compassion.”
Sources: K14
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