Zhang Lan was not known to have the best relationship with Barbie.
Barbie and Xiaofei, who have two children together, daughter Wang Hsi-yueh, 10, and son Wang Hsi-lin, nine, divorced in 2021 after 10 years of marriage. In 2022, Barbie married South Korean rapper DJ Koo, 55.
Later that year, Barbie took Xiaofei to court for failing to pay alimony.
Zhang Lan retaliated on her son’s behalf, accusing Barbie and her lawyers of threatening her son to get the most out of the divorce. She also accused Barbie of cheating on Xiaofei, and claimed that Barbie and her sister, Dee Hsu, “take drugs every day”. The accusations were immediately denied by Barbie.
With a history like that, one can imagine why eyebrows were raised when Zhang Lan paid tribute to her former daughter-in-law
Zhang Lan has been on the receiving end of many hate comments, with netizens calling her “China’s most evil mother-in-law”. Many also believed she was “faking” sadness at Barbie’s passing.
However, some also feel that Zhang Lan “had nothing to do with Barbie’s death”, and that people were being “childish” for hating on her.