Gallen Lo, 59, Age-Shamed After CCTV Spring Festival Gala Appearance

Former TVB star Gallen Lo has been trying to make his mark in China for some time now.

While the news we read about him recently mainly involve his performances at malls around China, the 59-year-old seems to have hit a new career high when he appeared as a guest at the recent Spring Festival Gala.

For readers not in the know, it's a great honour to be invited to CCTV's annual gala and those who get to perform are considered the who’s who of Chinese entertainment. The gala is also the state broadcaster’s and the world's most-watched show.

Sadly, his triumphant return to glory wasn't all that glorious.

Here's Gallen at the Spring Festival Gala

Gallen (centre) with Sunny Chan & Roger Kwok in At The Threshold Of An Era

Netizens said Gallen looked “haggard” and “old”, especially when they compared his current appearance to screenshots of him from 1999 TVB drama At The Threshold Of An Era.

What these netizens fail to realise is that the hit series was shot 23 years ago when Gallen was just 36.

Thankfully, there were those who defended Gallen against these trolls. One said, “You hate on celebs that go for procedures that make them look younger, and you also hate on the stars that don’t. There’s no winning for them, right?”

Gallen at the Sping Festival Gala performing 'Wo De Zhong Guo Xin' aka 'My Chinese Heart'

Hongkong netizens also had a bone to pick with Gallen whom they felt “betrayed Hongkong” because he sang Chinese anthem Wo De Zhong Guo Xin, which can be literally translated to 'My Chinese Heart', at the gala.

“Gallen Lo, Deric Wan and Kent Tong [both of whom performed the song with Gallen] are traitors and should never come back to Hongkong,” one irate netizen declared. “They’ve made their intentions clear.”

Photos: PBE Media