US-born Olympian Nathan Chen called a 'traitor' on Chinese social media [View all]

Chen drew heavy criticism on Chinese social media platform Weibo after winning his first Olympic gold medal in the individual figure skating program and helping the U.S. team secure the silver medal in the team figure skating competition last week, reported Yahoo Sports.

Many Chinese fans unfavorably compared Chen to U.S. born athletes competing for Team China at the Winter Olympics, such as 18-year-old freestyle skier Eileen Gu and 19-year-old figure skater Zhu Yi.

Weibo users berated the 22-year-old athlete for his performance, with some calling his finals routine the “acrobatics of a circus monkey,” according to South China Morning Post.

Other users deemed Chen as “too white” and “Americanized” while also accusing him of “insulting China” due to his previous actions, reported CNN. Fans expressed their disappointment after Chen refused to speak in Mandarin during a recent post-game interview and claimed his command of the language “isn’t very good.”

https://www.yahoo.com/news/u-born-olympics-star-nathan-185701785.html