On February 5, 2026, the annual entertainment gala "2025 Weibo Night" commenced with great fanfare. However, that afternoon, a controversy stemming from the arrangement of seats in the inner venue garnered significant attention, involving several artists. Yang Mi's studio directly posted a statement online, demanding "an explanation from Weibo Night."
The core dispute of the 2025 Weibo Night centered on changes to the seating in the second row of the inner venue. According to the official seating chart, the core area of the inner venue was arranged with three-person sofas. Freshly crowned Venice Film Festival Best Actress Xin Zhilei was positioned firmly in the center, with Xiao Zhan to her left and Yang Mi to her right. This arrangement adhered to the industry's unwritten rule that "award prestige outweighs popularity."
Half an hour before the ceremony began, the situation changed abruptly. Xiao Zhan's name card was moved to the edge of an adjacent sofa, leaving only Yang Mi and Xin Zhulei on the original three-person sofa, creating a side-by-side two-seater. This adjustment caused the sofa dividing line to shift right, visually presenting a "dual center" configuration.
Responding to the incident, Yang Mi's studio posted a message questioning the organizers: "It was very sudden, very shocking, and very frustrating. Weibo Night, please give us an explanation!" This post received 1.45 million likes within just over an hour. At 9:22 PM that evening, the event's official account issued a response, attributing the problem to a "sticking error during staff rechecking," and offered apologies to the artists and their fans.
Controversies over seating are not new in the entertainment industry. Several incidents in recent years have revealed the status battles and industry rules behind seating arrangements. At the 2018 "Weibo Movie Night," Eddie Peng was reported to have swapped the name card of Li Bingbing, originally placed in the front row, positioning himself instead in the first row alongside major investors and famous directors. This adjustment led to Li Bingbing standing in high heels backstage for hours, and she subsequently unfollowed Eddie Peng. Peng's side later responded that they were "unaware" of the arrangement, but the incident had already sparked widespread discussion. A "seat-grabbing" scene in Andy Lau's film "The Movie Emperor" is believed to allude to this event, with the production company explicitly noting that the plot was "adapted from real events in the entertainment industry."
A dramatic scene unfolded at the 2016 Chanel fashion show. It was rumored that Yao Chen moved her own chair to be closer to Vogue China's then-editor-in-chief Angelica Cheung, which resulted in Zhou Xun's seat, who arrived later, being pushed to the edge, creating a微妙 atmosphere at the scene. Although there was no official conclusion, this incident became a classic case study of the interplay between "status" and "personal connections" in the fashion world.
The "human pyramid" scene at a Dior show (in 2012) offered a more直观 illustration of resource competition. A front-row space originally arranged for only two people ultimately seated five female stars, including Angelababy, Zhang Yuqi, and Li Xiaolu. The scene was described by media as a "human pyramid," becoming an iconic image of the intense competition and covert struggles for prime seating in the early days of the entertainment industry.
The frequent occurrence of seating controversies points to the deep-seated industry logic and power structures within the entertainment world. In this sphere, seating arrangements are never merely about physical placement; they are one of the most直观 symbols of an artist's industry status, commercial value, and popularity. From Xin Zhilei occupying the center seat by virtue of an international best actress award, to the seat-grabbing dispute between Eddie Peng and Li Bingbing, these incidents confirm the industry reality that "seating is its own complex world."
Organizers of major events must perform a delicate balancing act among numerous artists and their teams. Although "work errors" are often cited to explain seating disputes, the "sticking error" explanation following the 2025 Weibo Night was widely questioned as lacking credibility.
Although the seating at the 2025 Weibo Night was eventually restored, all three parties involved suffered: Yang Mi faced质疑 due to the controversy, Xiao Zhan encountered舆论压力 over perceived demotion in status, Xin Zhilei's best actress spotlight was overshadowed, and the credibility of Weibo Night itself was severely damaged.
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