Joking about her abusive husband launched this Chinese comedian to stardom. The authorities aren’t laughing ktobet login
With her short hair and unshowy clothing, Fan Chunli looks every bit the middle-aged woman from rural China. Among a crowd of youngsters vying to become the next breakout star in one of China’s most popular stand-up comedy contests, she stands out.
But when the 50-year-old takes the mic, she beams with life and drips sarcasm, unloading jokes about her abusive ex-husband that bring the audience into a mix of laughter and tears.
Hailing from a place where simply knowing how to use the internet “makes me the Elon Musk of my village,” Fan is the latest sensation in China’s booming scene for stand-up comedy, an artform that offers an outlet for pent-up grievances in a country that often stifles open discussion of politics or society.
But Fan’s acerbic takes on patriarchy and domestic abuse have alarmed some officials in China, where women’s rights remain a sensitive issue. Trying to boost birth rates and thwart a looming demographic crisis, the ruling Communist Party is urging women to embrace traditional gender roles. It has cracked down hard on the country’s nascent feminist movement, which it deems a malicious Western influence.
During the performance that shot her to fame earlier this month, Fan laid bare the absurdity facing many victims of domestic violence in the country.
She said she was beaten by her ex-husband. But when she told her parents she wanted a divorce, her father warned her not to bring disgrace to the family.
“When men are involved in domestic violence, it’s not shameful. When women demand a divorce, it’s shameful,” she said, drawing cheers during her performance at The King of Stand-up Comedy, a popular contest streamed by online platform iQiyi.
Fan’s performance appears to have chagrined at least one local government.