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| Carina Lau Calls Out Taobao for “Deceiving Consumers” After Tony Leung’s Photo Used Without Permission (Photo: Mpweekly) |
Chinese actress Carina Lau has publicly called out online shopping giant Taobao for allegedly allowing a store on its platform to use her husband Tony Leung’s photo without consent in a product advertisement — sparking heated discussions across social media.
On 10 November, Carina took to Weibo and Instagram to voice her frustration, posting a screenshot of a product listing that used Tony Leung’s image to promote a health supplement.
She wrote, “Such serious infringement and consumer deception — Taobao, Tmall, is this your marketing strategy?”
The screenshot showed a store called “ENCARE Overseas Flagship Store”, operating under Tmall Global, promoting a product named New Zealand ENCARE Bovine Immunoglobulin. In the main banner, a half-body image of Tony Leung was prominently featured as if he endorsed the supplement.
By the afternoon, the image was quietly removed from the store.
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Taobao Responds and Legal Viewpoint
When contacted by the media, Taobao’s customer service explained that users can directly report any copyright or portrait rights violations, and the platform would investigate and take necessary action.
However, the issue didn’t stop there.
Mainland Chinese lawyer Lu Jin from Hubei Chisheng Law Firm told reporters that if a store used Tony Leung’s likeness for commercial promotion without proper authorisation, it constitutes a violation of portrait rights.
He added that unauthorised use of a celebrity’s photo can easily mislead consumers into believing that the star has endorsed or is affiliated with the brand, which falls under false advertising and may result in legal consequences for both the store and the platform.
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Brand’s Defence and Programme’s Response
According to screenshots circulating online, a customer service representative from the store claimed that they had sponsorship ties with a Chinese variety show called “Blockbusters Are Great” (大片很好看), in which Tony Leung participated.
They argued that this gave them rights to use his image in their advertising.
But this defence didn’t hold up for long.
Lawyers clarified that sponsorship agreements do not equal image rights authorisation, and unless explicitly stated in the contract, the store’s usage would still count as infringement.
Shortly after Carina’s post went viral, the variety show’s production team issued an official statement, clarifying that the store had “exceeded its authorised scope”, and the image usage had no official approval from them or from Tony Leung’s management.
Fans and Netizens React
The incident quickly became one of the top trending discussions on Weibo, with many netizens backing Carina’s stance and praising her for speaking out.
Comments flooded in such as:
“Good on her for protecting Tony’s rights — these brands think they can just use anyone’s face for free.”
“If even Tony Leung’s image can be used like this, imagine how many others face the same issue.”
Some users also pointed out how common this kind of unauthorised photo use has become in China’s booming e-commerce industry, especially with celebrity lookalike ads and misleading product promotions.
Carina Lau’s sharp response has reignited online debate about portrait rights, influencer marketing ethics, and e-commerce accountability in China.
While the offending image has already been taken down, many feel the issue reflects a much bigger problem within online advertising — where star power is exploited without permission, and consumers are left in the dark.
TL;DR:
Carina Lau accused Taobao of allowing a store to use her husband Tony Leung’s image without consent to promote a health supplement.
The post sparked massive online attention.
The store claimed it had “rights” through a show sponsorship, but lawyers and the show’s team later confirmed it was unauthorised. The ad has since been removed.