Hong Kong actor Angela Yuen calls for eradication of film industry’s misogynistic culture

A well-known Hong Kong actor, Angela Yuen, has called for the "eradication" of misogynistic culture within the film industry in a widely-shared social media post. The actress detailed instances of sexist jokes and unwarranted physical touch from her male colleagues, including verbal sexual harassment by a journalist, a director, and other male colleagues.

Yuen highlighted that a veteran actor once kissed her on the cheek during filming without her consent. The Chinese-language essay, titled "The Apologies That Will Never Come" and first published in April, recounted multiple instances of verbal sexual harassment, including a director telling Yuen she was not the type of person people wanted to have sex with and a drunk colleague making vulgar Japanese remarks about her genitals.

Yuen also mentioned that male actors would sometimes suggest that cinematographers deploy camera cranes only to shoot female actors' breasts from a high angle. She described a culture where women have no channel to seek accountability for sexual harassment, and even if a woman publicizes an incident on social media, news media often decontextualizes her account, and netizens tend to question and impose harsh moral judgments on victims.

Yuen emphasized that many women choose silence after being hurt due to the "chilling effect" of such judgment. She urged a complete eradication of the systemic denial of female subjectivity and their right to be treated seriously and professionally, stating that change must stem from not treating sexual harassment as individual events.