SHANGHAI - The censors in China are getting an earful from outraged netizens.

Fans of Chinese celebrities are upset over the authorities' removal - through digital manipulation - of the earrings worn by the stars when they appeared on soap operas and variety shows on popular online video platform iQiyi.

The celebrities targeted so far include teen heartthrob Wang Linkai and superstar actor Jing Boran, reported Daily Mail.

It is unclear why the censors have widened the list of practices of what they deem unsuitable, with the no-nos including tattoos and heavily dyed hair.

There is no official word that earrings for male artists have been banned, noted the Shanghaiist lifestyle portal.

Speculating over what the censors might do next in their drive to weed out "alternative cultures", one netizen sarcastically wrote: "Moving forward, all female stars will be asked to wear skirts that cover their knees; after that, all male stars will be asked to have shaved heads and all female stars short hair."