If you watch Mediacorp variety show Dishing With Chris Lee, which is in its second season, you’d know that host Christopher Lee is almost always in the same get-up – white tee, bermuda shorts, slippers, with an unshaven face and white towel wrapped around his head.
Not surprising, after all, he is out all day on a kelong, cooking under the scorching sun.
But as it turns out, some viewers have taken issue with the 52-year-old’s laidback look and have written in to a column on Chinese media Zaobao.sg to criticise his appearance.
According to reports, one audience lamented that Chris’ stubbly face made him look very sloppy, while another urged him to pay more attention to his image as “that bearded look really doesn’t suit him”.
“He’s supposed to be really good looking,” bleated another, adding the grey beard made him look older.
Chris, however, seems none too bothered about the comments.
In an interview with Zaobao, the actor said that he’s been “wanting to address this issue for a long time”.
Chris averred: “I don’t care how others see me.”
He clarified that it’s not that he doesn’t care about viewers, but rather he refuses to be confined by the supposed “image a celebrity should have”.
“If that happens, I’ll lose myself. I always say this: ‘The scariest thing that can happen to a person is for them to lose themselves’. If I care too much about everyone’s comments or suggestions, then I wouldn’t be Christopher Lee anymore,” he asserted.
Apparently, netizens have been commenting about his beard for years.
“Those questions about whether or not I should shave my beard, cut my hair, leave my hair long or short, I don’t answer any of them, I think it’s pointless because that’s my life,” said Chris, adding that he sometimes looks a certain way ‘cos he’s preparing for a role.
“I can look clean too, but, that will depend on what roles I take on,” he explained.
His goal is to be an actor who can “look convincing in any role” he plays.
In the past, he focused on looking handsome or glamorous, but now that he is in his middle age, he wants to play a variety of roles.
“As an actor, I don’t want to be limited by the look I used to have,” said Chris.
While some might argue that “artistes should take care of their image”, Chris dismissed this as an “old-fashioned” way of thinking.
“What I’m trying to say is, I hope the audience can stop caring so much about how I look on social media. That is my private life or the lifestyle I have when I’m preparing for a role,” he said.