Actress Furious After Bar Tried to ‘Serve Her Up’ to Foreigner

Source: OT-Team(G), 潇湘晨报; 纵览新闻

Actress Lou Xinyue says a Beijing bar pressured her to sit beside a foreigner, treating her like a dish.

Chinese actress Lou Xinyue reported via video on November 23 that she and a friend encountered inappropriate treatment at a Beijing bar earlier this month. According to Lou, the incident occurred on November 9, when the two visited the venue for drinks. A foreign patron seated two places away greeted them, and they responded politely with a nod.

Lou said that shortly afterward, a bar employee repeatedly attempted to persuade them to move to seats next to the man—who, as the staff explained, was the bar's resident singer. Despite multiple polite refusals, the staff member continued to insist. Lou eventually responded firmly that she did not wish to change seats and warned that she would file a complaint if the interruptions continued.

She stated that the employee then showed displeasure and said, "Sorry, perhaps I misunderstood." Feeling disrespected, Lou and her friend left shortly after. Lou criticized the behavior as disregarding women's boundaries and "treating customers like commodities," and questioned whether the bar had adequately trained its staff.

On November 23, Lou posted a follow-up video saying the bar had reviewed surveillance footage and confirmed that the staff member had indeed repeatedly asked her to sit beside the foreign singer. According to Lou, the employee has since been fined and suspended, and the bar's management has issued an apology.

Lou Xinyue is a film and television actress from the Chinese mainland and has appeared in multiple screen productions.