TOP Chinese actress Zhao Wei has been slapped with a bizarre lawsuit from a disgruntled TV viewer amid allegations that her intense stare on the new show “Tiger Mom” caused the man “spiritual damage.”

    The program, locally known as “Huma Maoba,” debuted in May and follows the lives of two parents with differing approaches to raising their daughter.

    Zhao plays the stern mother, but the “Red Cliff” star’s performance appears to have offended one Shanghai viewer, who has taken his complaint to Shanghai Pudong New District Court.

    The plaintiff claims watching Zhao on the show has caused him “spiritual damage” and he is seeking compensation, reported China’s Legal Daily newspaper.

    It is not known if the lawsuit was accepted by court authorities amid new government rules aimed at putting “an end to obstructive behavior by courts and officials meddling in cases.”

    The regulations making it more difficult for courts to reject lawsuits took effect May 1, leading to an increase in cases nationwide last month of 29 percent compared with the same period last year, to just over 1 million cases, according to the Supreme People’s Court.

    The new registration system requires courts to accept legitimate lawsuits when they are filed or clearly state the reasons for rejecting them, and citizens have the right to appeal the decisions.

    However, Supreme Court official Gan Wen has blasted the plaintiff, insisting the case is a prime example of citizens abusing their right to sue. Gan says, “It’s not necessary to waste our judicial resources on cases like these.”

    The news of the lawsuit emerged days after Zhao featured in a Forbes.com article, naming her “China’s billionaire actress” thanks to her shared fortune with husband Huang Youlong.

    (SD-Agencies)