US anchor receives brutal lashing by Chinese state media after branding Eileen Gu ’ungrateful’

A Fox News host has made a powerful enemy after labelling skier Eileen Gu’s “reverse migration” to China “shameful”.

An American TV host has copped a brutal lashing from Chinese state media after labelling US born and raised athlete Eileen Gu “ungrateful” for choosing to represent China at the Winter Olympics.

The 18-year-old’s controversial move has been a major source of contention between the US and China, and has continued to cause friction beyond Gu’s gold medal win on Tuesday.

China’s political mouthpiece, the Global Times, has now hit back at the US’s “embarrassing” suggestion the teen’s decision was motivated solely by her increased earning power on team China.

Responding to a damning segment on Fox News – during which Gu’s “reverse migration” was branded “shameful” – Global Times journalist Xia Wenxin argued the US was dealing with a bad case of “sour grapes mentality”.

Fox News host Will Cain has landed in hot water with China after his bold claims about Eileen Gu on Fox News' Tucker Carlson Tonight program. Picture: Fox News

Wenxin accused the US of “calculated snobbery” for its unapproving position on Gu competing for China, and argued it was just using her as ammunition.

“The West don’t really care about the athletes themselves as much as they try to sound. They probably just use them as an excuse to criticise China,” Wenxin wrote.

Fox News host Will Cain said it was “ungrateful” for Gu to “betray the country that not just raised her, but turned her into a world-class skier”.

Last night on Tucker. Eileen Gu is symbolic of American corporations - too many - that have sold out for China.
pic.twitter.com/ZAbK4rjxcY

— Will Cain (@willcain) February 3, 2022

Cain said it was “shameful” for Gu to “turn her back” on the US “in exchange for money”.

“It’s ungrateful like a child that says, ‘I’m out of here, I’m moving somewhere else’ after being raised in a warm home,” he said.

“She will soon, I suspect, come to regret it.”

Wenxin lashed his opinion, arguing it was not unthinkable that Gu was being honest when she told the media her switch was mostly driven by a desire to promote her sport in China.

“This ‘reverse migration’ in the field of sports marks a new era and perhaps, a sign of something new,” he wrote.

Continued criticism of athletes converting to compete for China after being raised in the West would do nothing more than prove western media’s “sour grapes mentality”, he claimed.

Cain directly addressed Gu in his lengthy attack, sarcastically telling her: “welcome to China”.

“Eileen Gu, I think, has had to sacrifice her American passport,” he said.

“So welcome to China. I hope stardom and the riches that you have earned through betraying America are all worth it, because you have definitely sold out.”

Eileen Gu claimed gold in the women's freestyle skiing freeski big air event. Picture: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images

China has also been in hot water over the strange antics of its star tennis player Peng Shuai, who mysteriously disappeared for a period of time in November after accusing a top Chinese politician of sexually assaulting her online.

The post has since been deleted from social media site Weibo and while the two-time grand slam doubles champion has made public appearances and comments since, many believe Peng is being coerced and unable to act of her own free will.

Her experience formed another layer of pushback when Gu decided to represent China, with many claiming it displayed an immoral allegiance to the country, which has unknown levels of power over its athletes.

While Gu had an impressive catalogue of sponsors in the US including Red Bull, Cadillac, the Apple-owned Beats by Dre headphones and Victoria’s Secret, the brands were reportedly no match for deals being made in China.

So far she has inked more than 20 endorsement deals in her adopted homeland, signing with companies such as the Bank of China, China Mobile and milk company Mengniu.

She is also the spokesperson for Luckin’ Coffee, the Starbucks of China.

According to campaignasia.com, a single endorsement deal with the skier costs about $2.5 million.