TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — As the feud between actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛) and ex-husband Chinese businessman Wang Xiaofei (汪小菲) developed, a mattress that allegedly cost Wang nearly NT$10 million (US$320,160) inadvertently became the highlight.
During Wang’s tirade on social media that lasted for over 12 hours on Monday (Nov. 21), he had raged about Hsu’s current husband, Korean singer DJ Koo, using a mattress he purchased in the home he shared with Hsu in Taiwan, writing, “It’s one thing if someone else is living there, but can you, dipshit, switch out the mattress?” This immediately became one focus of netizens’ mockery of Wang, which was further amplified when Wang’s mother Zhang Lan (張蘭) emphasized during a livestream that the mattress was custom-made for Hsu and “cost 2 million.”
While Zhang did not specify which currency the price was in, Taiwanese media interpreted it as renminbi, which equals NT$10 million. It was widely speculated that the mattress in question was Vividus by Swedish brand Hastens.
On Wednesday (Nov. 23), Wang posted again on China’s Twitter-like Weibo, claiming that he had lost his temper after Hsu sued him for not paying alimony. “I don’t want to say anything anymore, burn the damn mattress, it’s all in the past, let’s not attack each other anymore,” he wrote in a post that was deleted soon after being published.
However, in response, Hastens shared on Weibo an old video featuring a burn test to promote the company’s “incombustible bed.” While a generic mattress turned into a charred mess within five minutes, the Hastens bed beside it never caught fire and was merely blackened when a staff member attempted to light it up.
In a deleted Weibo post, Wang tells Hsu to "burn the damn mattress." (Weibo, Wang Xiaofei screenshot)
Hastens responds to Wang's post by sharing video of its "incombustible bed," which sits next to a generic bed that is quickly engulfed by flames. (Weibo, Hastens screenshot)
Meanwhile, Hsu had delivered a mattress to S Hotel in Taipei, which Wang owns. SETNews cited the hotel’s general manager surnamed Lee (李) as saying that the mattress arrived at 4 p.m. on Tuesday (Nov. 22). According to Lee, “Discarded mattresses are categorized as bulky refuse, we spent NT$15,000 to hire a professional company to destroy it.”
On Wednesday (Nov. 23), S Hotel held a press conference and allowed Taiwanese media to film and photograph the mattress being “cut to shreds” by workers. During the process, the public was quick to observe that the destroyed mattress was not from Hastens, sending netizens into another frenzied discussion about what brand it was and how much it actually cost.
In Taiwan, furniture brands took the opportunity to promote their beds. IKEA’s Neihu Branch posted on Facebook, “The new will not arrive until the old is gone. Now that the old one has disintegrated, isn’t it time to buy a new one?”
“We don’t have luxurious beds that cost millions, but we have 10-year quality assurance. The innovative S-shaped design (referring to Hsu’s stage name, Big S) offers support in seven comfort zones and is as good as a million-dollar luxury bed.” The store added that it also offers a “mattress recycling service” and “free shipping for orders over NT$14,000.”
Taiwanese media speculated Wang purchased a Hastens Vividus mattress costing almost NT$10 million for Hsu. (Hastens photo)
Hsu issued another statement on social media on Wednesday in response to Zhang’s allegations that she had cheated on Wang with DJ Koo. Zhang had also accused her and her younger sister, Dee Hsu (徐熙娣), of having a history of drug abuse.
“My sister and I cannot do drugs, because both of us have bad hearts. My sister works an average of four days a week and lives with her in-laws and children. There is no way for her to do drugs. I myself am not interested in drugs. Taiwan does not allow for drugs, we are law-abiding.” Hsu added curtly, “It is difficult to maintain or end a 10-year marriage, I do not have the strength and don’t care to cheat.”
Additionally, Hsu denied that she received over NT$40 million from Wang, stressing that she did not come up with the list of expenses as shown in screenshots posted by him on Weibo. “But every month I receive NT$1 million as compensation for my physical and psychological trauma.”
She wrote that he has been paying for her and her children’s everyday expenses as they agreed. The NT$5 million that he owed, for which she sued, was supposed to be used as their children’s savings.
