Will the Opening Ceremony Fakery Never End? Adorable Moppet Was Lip-Syncing

Has our love affair with the Olympics ended already? First we were upset that the opening ceremony’s firework footprints were faked, although it is true that NBC’s coverage at least hinted at that at the time. Now news reports indicate that the adorable little girl who sang that cheesy song “Hymn to the Motherland� at Friday’s opening ceremony was actually lip-syncing. Which in and of itself wouldn’t be that big a deal — after all, Pavarotti lip-synced in Turin, and that little girl is way cuter than Pavarotti — except that it turns out that pigtailed Lin Miaoke wasn’t the singer who was supposed to appear. Instead, 7-year-old Yang Peiyi, who won a nationwide singing competition, was replaced at the last minute when a Chinese official, watching rehearsal, declared that Yang’s buckteeth made her unsuitable to appear on television. Now Lin Miaoke is China’s newest star, appearing on television all over the place.

“The child on the screen should be flawless in image, in her internal feelings, and in her expression,� says Chen Qigang, the ceremony’s musical designer. “I am proud to have been chosen to sing at all,� says plucky little Yang Peiyi.

GOOD GOD, THIS IS THE SADDEST THING WE HAVE EVER READ.

She’s 7! She has buckteeth! She is adorable! She was replaced by a glamorous 9-year-old in pigtails at the last minute! We can’t even speak right now. We guess we need to get a thicker skin, and stop being so outraged by what totalitarian nations do to their citizens. (Or maybe start getting outraged about what totalitarian nations do to all their citizens, not just cute 7-year-old girls.)

Anyway, someone better step in and give Yang Peiyi a record deal, stat. Clive Davis, we’re looking at you.

Beijing Olympics: Faking scandal over girl who ‘sang’ in opening ceremony [Telegraph]