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| When Charity Gets Questioned: Zhao Lusi, Farmers, and the Price of Premium Juice |
Chinese actress Zhao Lusi is once again grabbing headlines, but this time it’s not for a drama role or a viral livestream—it’s over a stormy controversy dubbed by the public as the “fake farmer aid” case.
The drama started with Zhao Lusi claiming she’d bought a whopping 600 tons of hail-damaged apples from Shaanxi to help farmers struggling to sell their produce. Sounds heroic, right? But things got complicated fast.
Local farmers quickly contested the narrative. According to them, apple season in Shaanxi doesn’t even start until August, and the hailstorm back in May only affected young fruit, leaving little to harvest. Official records confirmed the hail-affected areas weren’t even the regions producing the apples Zhao Lusi supposedly bought.
Adding fuel to the fire, netizens dug up connections between Zhao Lusi’s ventures. Her company, Yan’an Little Fruit Agriculture Technology Co., established in May 2025, has ties to Xiamen I’m Busy Culture Media, and one shareholder reportedly received payments from ROSYWYLIE, believed to be Zhao Lusi’s personal business.
And then there’s the pricing. The promoted apple juice is selling for around ¥20 for 238ml (roughly Rp44,000)—almost five times the price of national brands like Huiyuan.
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Critics are questioning whether farmers actually see any of that money, especially given claims the juice uses premium Fuji apples, while hail-damaged apples are generally cheaper and lower quality.
Supporters, however, argue that Zhao Lusi is simply raising awareness for agricultural products via livestreams without directly selling them, and she even received a Farmer Aid Ambassador certificate from the Yan’an Agricultural and Rural Affairs Department.
They highlight that her business model also creates jobs for the elderly and combines tech and distribution to boost local marketing, which is a genuine benefit.
Still, scepticism persists, partly due to the food safety record of Sichuan Wanglu Food, the processing plant involved. Past reports flagged excess bacteria levels and foreign objects in children’s drinks, raising questions about quality control.
This controversy isn’t just about apples or price tags—it touches on a bigger question: does buying and reselling agricultural produce at premium prices count as aid, or is it just business wrapped in a socially conscious narrative?
For Zhao Lusi, it’s a tricky balancing act between her public image, her business ventures, and the expectations of fans who want celebrities to genuinely support causes rather than market products.
Beyond the headlines, it sparks a broader debate about transparency, ethics, and celebrity involvement in agricultural promotions, and it seems the discussion isn’t cooling down anytime soon.