The Western press is fawning over Eileen Gu but the irony is that she's not exactly well-loved in China.

Her Chinese name is "Gu Ai Ling" (谷爱凌).
Her Chinese critics have nicknamed her "Gu Ai Qian" (谷爱钱), which literally translates to:

"Gu Loves Money"

Back in August 2024, Eileen Gu faced backlash from Chinese netizens who accused her of being "unpatriotic," "two-faced," and not fully committed to China.

In a video posted on Douyin (China's version of TikTok), she stated:

“In the past five years, I’ve represented China in 41 international competitions and have won 39 medals for China." She followed this by directly asking her critics and haters, “What have you done for the country?”

The audacity to question their contributions while touting her own did not go down well.

Many Chinese are critical about her seasonal "patriotism" as she cosplays being Chinese once every 4 years for money, noting the irony of a capitalist representing a communist regime.

Hence, "Gu Loves Money"

Her biggest fans are basically the Western media and global luxury brands.