Huge backlash against variety show's milk-dumping promotion

A short video documenting countless bottles of milk wasted to support the idols of a variety show — "Youth with You" Season 3 — has triggered massive criticism online, China Central Television reported on Tuesday.

Fans were allegedly encouraged to show their support for the show's idols by scanning the QR code inside bottle caps after purchasing the sponsor’s milk. The more they scanned, the higher support rate their idols received.

Fans poured milk into sewers, because they bought more than they could consume before the expiration dates.

The show, where young trainees can become idols trough competitions, debuted in 2019 and is produced by the Chinese online video platform iQIYI.

The Beijing Municipal Radio and Television Bureau announced the show's suspension on Tuesday for the controversy it had caused. 

The show said on Wednesday through Weibo that it accepted the decision and will rectify the situation.

Professor Liu Junhai, director of the Institute of Commercial Law at Renmin University of China, told The Paper on Wednesday that as the law against food waste was launched on April 29, the milk-wasting behavior is illegal under the law.

CCTV said in a comment posted on Weibo that the video platform and sponsor should be held responsible for the voting method they advocated, which misled young people's behavior and values.