One scene of the reality show Sisters Who Make Waves Photo: IC

 
Hunan TV station, one of most popular TV stations among young Chinese people, has found itself at the center of a storm of controversy after viewers complained that women performers were filmed from what they felt was an improper angle during a promotional gala on Tuesday.

The gala, co-produced by the TV station and several e-commerce platforms, invited a number of Chinese celebrities to perform, including actor Wang Yibo and some guests from current hot reality show Sisters Who Make Waves.

When the female celebrities from the reality show performed on stage, some viewers noticed that they were being shot from a very different angle than the male performers. 

On Wednesday, netizen "Wansiji" uploaded a group of comparison screenshots on China's Twitter-like Sina Weibo along with a post pointing out that while male performers were shot from level angles, female celebrities were shot from a low angle, even if they were wearing dresses. 

This focus on the legs of the female performers was seen as being disrespectful to women by many netizens.

The hashtag "Hunan TV station's gala has shooting problems" had been viewed more than 320 million times as of Wednesday afternoon on Sina Weibo.

"As a camera man, I often research how to shoot a program. To be honest, the TV station did this on purpose," netizen "yuanmengchuanqi" commented on Sina Weibo.

The TV station received a lot of compliments after debuting reality show Sisters Who Make Waves, which invites female celebrities above 30 years old to build a girl band. Many people saw the show as a female empowerment program.

However, the shooting angle controversy hurt the station's image as a supporter of women, many netizens commented. 

"The station just pretended to respect females and stand with independent women."

Hunan TV has not yet responded to the controversy.