‘Kids need to be smacked to be disciplined’: Jackie Chan’s viral clip with crying ‘daughter’ just keeps looking worse

Plenty of situations are deserving of the title “dumpster fire,” but very few can lay claim to the distinction of “landfill fire.” Through the combined efforts of known dumpster fire Twitter and controversy fountain Jackie Chan, however, anything is possible.

Chan’s latest film, an action-drama called Ride On, released to theaters back in April. In the film, Chan portrays Lao Luo, a retired stuntman who goes viral on the internet thanks to his daughter, Xiao Bao, posting his fight against some violent debt collectors on social media. Once his newfound fame sets in, Luo and his daughter contend with a bit of drama brought on by the dangerous nature of his work, but it doesn’t hold a candle to the real-life drama that spawned from a key scene in the film.

The scene in question is one where Luo and Bao share a touching moment in which they shed tears watching some of Luo’s old movies together, and the scene has since gone viral on Twitter as a wholesome homage to one of the most recognizable film stars in history.

Of course, anyone who’s actually familiar with the man rather than the actor probably knows that he’s not exactly someone to be celebrated, especially in the context of family relationships.

In 2015, Chan released his autobiography Never Grow Up, which documents his life story from his childhood to his honorary Academy Award, and in one of the chapters, he admits to having physically abused his son, Jaycee. The actor wrote that he’s “always believed kids need to be smacked to be disciplined,” attributing his philosophy to the treatment he received whilst studying at the Peking Opera School before detailing his assault on his then-very young son.

Later, he admits that he doesn’t think he’s a good father, despite believing that he’s still a responsible one, and despite seemingly maintaining his stance on physical punishment, he admits that he made a promise not to beat his son anymore after the original incident.

In any case, Chan playing a father who has a tender moment with his daughter was a bold move, tweeting a clip of that scene given the actor’s incredibly dodgy history (which also includes disowning his daughter and being a vocal supporter of the Chinese Communist Party) is even bolder, but electing to dump praise on him in that tweet despite of all of those things is perhaps the boldest move of all. And no, there’s praise to be had in this particular strand of boldness, so to speak.