Bruno Mars embroiled in social media drama post Taiwan concert

American singer Bruno Mars is facing backlash among Chinese and Taiwanese netizens after posting "Thank you, Taiwan, China" on Weibo. This comes after the singer held his "Bruno Mars live in Kaohsiung" concert in Kaohsiung on 7 and 8 September, attracting 108,000 attendees.

After the concert, Mars posted an Instagram post attached to a 43-second video after the concert on 11 September, which showed him singing with his fans at the concert with the caption “Thank you Taiwan” along with the Republic of China (ROC) flag and a heart emoji. 

Meanwhile, Mars’ Weibo post states "Thank you Taiwan, China" (谢谢中国台湾) in simplified Chinese, along with a heart emoji. The post has received over 11,000 likes, 540 comments, and 230 shares, but it has sparked mixed reactions among Chinese netizens, a check by MARKETING-INTERACTIVE found. 

While some Weibo users pointed out the difference between the captions on his Instagram and Weibo posts, some described Mars as being "two-faced" (兩面人) given the circumstances.

Mars also updated his Instagram post at midnight on 12 September, changing "Thank You Taiwan" to "Thank You Kaohsiung" and removing the ROC flag, leaving just the heart emoji. This change ignited further discussions among netizens. Many fans flooded Mars' post with comments featuring the ROC flag, a check by MARKETING-INTERACTIVE saw. While some netizens said Taiwan cannot be replaced by Kaohsiung, some shared their frustration at Mars' amendment of his post. 

Don't miss: Top Gun restores Taiwan and Japan flags on iconic jacket after Tencent investment withdrawal

This is not the first time a similar controversy involving the relationship between Mainland China and Taiwan has arisen with celebrities.

Back in 2022, the restoration of the Taiwanese and Japanese flags on Tom Cruise's jacket in Top Gun: Maverick drew mixed reactions—joy from Taiwanese viewers and anger from Chinese netizens. This controversy followed Tencent Holdings' withdrawal of its investment in the film due to concerns that its association with a pro-US military movie might upset Beijing.

In the 2019 trailer, the Taiwanese flag was either missing or poorly visible, leading to speculation it was removed to appease Chinese censors. The jacket, worn by Cruise's character as a tribute to his late father, displayed the flags during an advance screening, prompting applause in cinemas.

Photo courtesy: Bruno Mars' official Weibo and Instagram pages

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