Wrong to morally kidnap stars

A social media post demanding Wu Jing, the actor-director of the popular action film Wolf Warrior II, donate more than he already had in the aftermath of the recent Jiuzhaigou earthquake in Southwest China's Sichuan province, has sparked fierce online debate about whether it is reasonable to morally blackmail celebrities to donate money after a natural disaster.

Some netizens believe Wu, as the director of China's biggest-ever hit at the box office, had a moral obligation to make a large donation and argue that the 1 million yuan ($150,000) donated by Wu is disproportional to his film's colossal box office revenue and he should have donated at least 100 million yuan.

This is not the first time people have tried to morally kidnap celebrities, similar donation demands were made of celebrities after the Wenchuan earthquake in Sichuan in 2008. When Yao Ming, then a Chinese NBA player, donated to the disaster-hit region 500,000 yuan, quite a few netizens were dissatisfied with the amount, saying Yao's donation was meager compared with his more than 100 million yuan annual income. Many other celebrities have faced similar accusations.