Getting to walk the red carpet at the Golden Horse Awards with your wife is definitely a moment to remember.
For Mark Lee, that milestone was filled with bittersweet memories.
The 56-year-old was recently at a media event for Close Ur Kopitiam, a Malaysian film he had invested in. He was asked to talk about cyberbullying, a topic featured in the movie.
At the Golden Horse Awards in 2020, Mark was nominated for Best Leading Actor for his role as a drag queen in the movie Number 1,
He took his wife Catherine Ng to the ceremony, and the couple and his team walked the red carpet together.
What Mark did not expect was for Catherine to get flamed for joining her husband for that joyous moment.
Netizens felt Catherine was not qualified to walk the red carpet as she isn’t a celebrity.
The backlash was so bad that Catherine was hesitant to walk the red carpet the next year when Mark was invited back as an award presenter.
But he insisted she join him.
Looking back at what happened, Mark said Catherine “definitely deserved” to be on the red carpet with him.
“While I’m working hard in the movie industry, she’s the one standing behind me and helping me by taking good care of everything at home,” he said.
The hate comments had hurt his wife and that is something he cannot tolerate.
“When people scold me online, I wouldn’t care because as long as I didn’t do anything wrong or let anyone down, it’s okay for people to criticise me. But please do not attack my family,” he stressed.