This criticism resulted in the removal of his online social media accounts, movies, television shows, and music.

In December 2022, Zhang returned from a year of domestic boycott with the release of new music on international platforms outside of mainland China.

[3] Thereafter, he signed a contract with Yu Zheng's studio, and played the leading role in the comedy web series Crazy for Palace and its sequel.

[3] Zhang then went on to act in various supporting roles in dramas produced by Yu Zheng; such as Palace 3: The Lost Daughter, The Romance of the Condor Heroes and Love Yunge from the Desert.

[8] In 2015, Zhang played the male lead in historical drama Legend of Ban Shu with Jing Tian.

[9] He went on to play lead roles in the spy drama Decoded,[10] and headlined both seasons of the fantasy web series Demon Girl.

[17] Zhang also appeared in the historical romance drama The Blooms at Ruyi Pavilion alongside Ju Jingyi.

[18] In 2021, Zhang starred alongside Gong Jun in the Wuxia drama series Word of Honor, which is an adaptation of the BL novel Tian Ya Ke by Priest.

He played the role of Zhou Zishu, an elite royal service leader who leaves his past and starts anew.

The show's first episode has accumulated over 8.7 million views on YouTube, and its popularity put the two male leads Gong Jun and Zhang under the spotlight, becoming overnight sensations.

[20] At the wedding, Zhang also took a photo with Dewi Sukarrno, who was labeled by many Weibo users as "a right-wing anti-Chinese politician".

"[23][24] In response, the People's Daily stated: "As a public figure, a lack of historical knowledge and unknowingness of the suffering of the nation is unacceptable.

[26] His upcoming films and television shows also ended their associations with him; Tencent Video, Youku, iQIYI and Mango TV took down his works from their streaming platforms in China voluntarily[29][30] and Zhang's scenes in the movie 1921 were replaced by another actor.

[31] Sina Weibo shut down his Super Topic, and his personal and studio accounts were removed from Douyin, Douban and other Chinese sites.

[29] Li Xuezheng, the Vice Chairman of the China TV Artists Association and Director of the Golden Shield Television Center questioned the authority of the China Association of Performing Arts (CAPA) to issue a blacklist of artists, which had included Zhang.

[33] He questioned who compiled the list, what criteria was used, and whether CAPA has the legal power to impose sanctions against Chinese online influencers and performers.

[42][37][41] This video and follow up posts caused a number of online fans to report his account as a deep fake due to their ongoing belief that the two actors were secretly in a same-sex romantic relationship despite his clarification.

[41][43] In the same video, Zhang stated outside sources were "spending lots of money to create rumors about the political standing of a patriotic citizen, editing Baidu pages, working with social influencers, and using large amounts of Internet Water Army to influence the media.

"[42][40][43] In December 2022, Zhang returned from a year of domestic boycott with two singles "Melancholy Sunshine" and "Knight Errant", both reaching #1 on the global iTunes music charts.