A Chinese comedian’s vulgar jokes about a renowned Peking opera performer have sparked outrage from a Beijing-based fine arts academy.

The Peking Opera Chengpai National Academy of Arts on Tuesday condemned comedian Zhang Yunlei for “using hooligan language that crosses a moral bottom line.”

The controversy started with a video posted Saturday on Weibo, China’s Twitter-like microblogging platform. Zhang is seen poking fun at Zhang Huoding — a famous Peking opera star who in 2015 performed at the Lincoln Center in New York — by joking that he is so familiar with her that they “go bathing” together, among other intimate activities.

“We would love to advise Zhang: Please keep a safe distance from the art of Chengpai,” the academy said, referring to one tradition of Peking opera. The statement further called on Zhang to publicly apologize.

As a member of the popular De Yun She crosstalk group — a uniquely Chinese form of stage comedy usually involving two performers trading barbs — Zhang also sparked backlash earlier this year by joking about the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, which left over 80,000 people in Southwest China dead or missing. Though Zhang later apologized for the remarks, a popular variety show allegedly replaced a segment in which he appeared with an innocuous cartoon. (Image: VCG)