‘Physical 100’: Elaine Wong Says ‘This Is a Scam!’ and Considered Quitting
How did Netflix find 100 competitors for Physical 100? One star explained how she was cast and how surprised she was by the other competitors. Elaine Wong called the show a scam and talked about her fight with YouTuber Shim Eu-ddeum.
Who is Elaine Wong on ‘Physical 100’?
The show has people from different occupations and walks of life competing to show their physical abilities. Elaine stood out for not being a weightlifter, a bodybuilder like married couple Song A-reum and Kim Kang-min, or a member of a national team. Instead, she’s an actor from Singapore.
She previously was on variety shows there, including South Korean Foreigners. The show has 10 foreigners who have lived in Singapore taking a quiz to prove their Korean knowledge. That’s how she was discovered for Physical 100.
Sadly, Elaine didn’t last long in the competition. She couldn’t hang onto the bars for long in the pre-mission because she used only her hands. She was then defeated in the one-on-one match.
Why Elaine Wong called ‘Physical 100’ a scam
The actor stuck out like a sore thumb in the cast. She revealed her first impressions of fellow competitors to AsiaOne.
“Most of them were like, [both] hunky and chunky,” she said. “Even the girl in front of me was, too. I was like, ‘Oh my god. Should I just quit? This is a scam!’”
She pointed out that her goals in the gym are very different from other people in the cast. “I’m not the type to go to a gym to carry out a 40kg or 100kg deadlift — I don’t do that,” she said. “So I wouldn’t say I’m very strong, but I’m definitely not weak.”
However, Elaine said she wasn’t on the same level as the other competitors and was aware that she could be in danger. “So in Korean, I would tell them, ‘Daddy and Mummy, please don’t hurt me, we’re all friends!’” she claimed.
She asked Shim Eu-ddeum to take it easy on her
Elaine claimed that multiple fighters from the top 50 looked at her twice before choosing their opponent. The actor came across as an easy win, but in the end, Eu-ddeum fought her.
“I said, ‘Hi, I know you’re very strong, can you just be gentle with me? Thank you,’” the actor revealed. One reason why she wanted to avoid injury is that she was signed on to other shows in the five following months.
Elaine revealed what led to her loss against the YouTuber. “She can literally carry me and run,” she explained while laughing. “If I got the ball from her, she would probably just lift me up instead.”
The reality TV show truly leaves the doors open for unlimited match-ups. Some men picked women to fight, and at least one woman chose a man. Other fighters picked people outside of their weight class with the belief that it would give them an advantage.
