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| Bilibili User Spreads Bizarre “Fake Chen Duling” Theory |
Chinese actress Chen Duling has unexpectedly found herself at the centre of an online circus this week after a string of videos circulated on Bilibili, pushing the outlandish claim that she had been “replaced by a man”.
The content—pieced together by a user styling themselves as a self-taught detective—quickly spread across social media, dragging curious and confused netizens into a bizarre spiral of speculation.
The videos in question attempted to “prove” that Chen Duling seen at recent events was not the real actress at all, but a body double allegedly sporting hyper-realistic silicone prosthetics.
The creator went as far as dissecting her facial angles, ear placement, jawline shape and even arm proportions, insisting these tiny differences signalled some larger cover-up.
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A small cluster of users even revisited her birthday livestream, claiming they heard someone crying off-screen and treating it as evidence of a hidden crisis.
Things escalated when the rumour was bizarrely linked to the passing of actor Yu Menglong earlier this year.
Although his death was officially determined to involve no wrongdoing, certain online corners fused the two topics together and pushed the narrative that “the real Chen Duling had already disappeared”, replacing her with a manufactured stand-in.
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Legal Team Breaks Silence
The situation reached a point where Chen Duling’s team could no longer ignore it.
On 17 November, Beijing Jingdu Law Firm released an official legal statement on behalf of Chongqing Yiningji Film & Culture Co., Ltd., confirming that they had been formally authorised to take legal measures against the rumour-spreaders.
The law firm directly named the Bilibili user responsible for the original posts, accusing them of fabricating misleading content and deliberately packaging it into a sensational conspiracy.
Statements such as “there is no real Chen Duling”, “mask”, “vocal cord surgery”, and “controlled by others” were described as entirely groundless, harmful, and designed to mislead the public.
The legal team stressed that the “replaced by a man” theory has no basis in fact whatsoever, labelling it nothing more than a collection of stitched-together assumptions and suggestive wording aimed at driving clicks and attention.
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| Studio Responds After Netizens Push Strange “Silicone Mask” Theory About Chen Duling |
To remind the public of the person behind the headlines, the statement also highlighted Chen’s well-documented background.
Born in 1993, she graduated from Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, majoring in Aircraft Manufacturing Engineering—an academic path that alone contradicts the idea of a mysterious, untraceable stand-in.
Chen Duling began her acting career in the hit youth film The Left Ear, later taking prominent roles in dramas such as The Glory, Fangs of Fortune, and the fantasy series Till the End of the Moon.
Her steady rise and consistent public presence make the conspiracy theories all the more unreasonable.
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Management Not Taking It Lightly
According to the legal notice, the team is now compiling evidence and preparing to pursue the matter in accordance with the law, particularly against individuals who continue to replicate or expand the rumour.
For now, it seems the online chatter is gradually cooling down, but the incident has once again highlighted how quickly misinformation can spiral—especially when mixed with dramatic storytelling and selective screenshots.
Chen Duling has not personally commented on the claims, but her representatives have made it clear: the actor remains very much herself, and those pushing the false narrative should be ready to face the consequences.
Source: Weibo/Douyin