A video of teen superstar Wang Yuan smoking in a Beijing restaurant went massively viral on the Chinese internet Tuesday, with hashtags related to the incident viewed billions of times by netizens.

The footage and accompanying screenshots shared to microblogging platform Weibo on Tuesday morning, which show the singer also known as Roy Wang inhaling from a cigarette, quickly inspired a hashtag translating to “Wang Yuan smoking,” which had over 1 billion views by that evening.

The revelation triggered outrage and cognitive dissonance among many fans, who had seen Wang as a wholesome and fresh-faced role model since his debut as a member of boy band TFBoys at the tender age of 12. Despite 18-year-old Wang legally being an adult in a country of over 300 million smokers, many of his followers have condemned him, while others have argued that the star shouldn’t be held to the idealized image that fans had of him.

Following the controversy online — and a post from Beijing’s health authorities saying that they are now investigating the singer on suspicion of illegally smoking in a restaurant — Wang issued an apology on his Weibo account Tuesday afternoon, saying he had set a “bad example” and would accept any punishment handed down to him for the incident. As of Tuesday evening, a hashtag about the apology had also accrued over 1 billion views on Weibo. (Image: VCG)