Beijing Pops: Kris Wu's Sexual Scandal Became A Civil Case
Feeling left out when your Chinese colleagues are gossiping about a trending star? Puzzled by those glamorous Chinese faces in subway ads, but can't even tell who they are? Beijing Pops will help you get through it all with the latest pop culture and celebrity news.
Popstar Kris Wu accused of date rape and more sexual misconduct
By now, you've probably heard that Kris Wu has been caught up in intense controversy. If you're wondering what it's all about, we're here to explain.
Weeks ago, rumors surrounding pop star Kris Wu were flying all over China's social media. A woman revealed that Wu had played with her friend's heart and subsequently disappeared out of blue without any notice, which led to severe depression and seriously affected the friend's life and study. Although Wu's studio denied that and even hit some so-called "rumor mongers" with lawsuits, a month on, the rumors have turned out to be true.
On July 8, the affected woman from the story named Du Meizhu, posted her story on Weibo, accusing Wu not only of fooling her but also of tricking underage girls into a sexual relationship with him. "It's like an emperor selecting his concubines." She wrote in the post, "Most girls are afraid of his prestige and social impact, so they just remain silent."
In the meantime, the law firm Wu entrusted stated that Du was spreading false information and required her to delete them all. However, in an interview published on Jul 10, Du said she had received a flood of curses and even death threats from Wu's fans. Even his studio also contacted her, trying to trap her and shut her up with a large sum of hush money. Du wrote she will "keep fighting", not only for herself but also for "other victims".
On Jul 18, Du post another article on Weibo. This one dropped like a bombshell, inflaming netizens by hinting that Wu had date-raped multiple underage girls. In the following days, several girls spoke out for themselves, which has largely been taken as proof that Du was telling the truth.
Under the pressure of public opinion, Wu finally "appeared" on Jul 19 but insisted that he was innocent. "I only met Miss Du once at a friend's gathering. I didn't ply her with alcohol… I have never 'coerced women into sex' or engaged in 'date rape'," he wrote in the statement. However, considering the great controversy around him, most brands, such as domestic skincare brand Kans, music streaming platform Yunting, and household detergent maker Libai, decided to cut ties with Wu.
On Thursday, Beijing police revealed the result of the investigation of Wu's case. The investigation confirmed that Wu had sexual relationship with Du, debunking Wu's previous lies. Details reveal that Wu and Du met in a party in December 2020. After Du became drunk, Wu took away her smartphone and had sex with her. They kept in touch since then until this April.
In a final strange twist, a man surnamed Liu has also been detained after confessing to trying to blackmail both Wu and Du over the scandal. As for Wu's allegedly sex raping with minors, the matter is still under investigation.
Famous director Chen Kaige’s son in controversy over nationality changing
Son of Chinese director Chen Kaige, who directed the Palme d'Or winner Farewell My Concubine in 1993, got caught up in controversy after netizens discovered that the 21-year-old has changed his nationality from American to Chinese on his Baidu Baike page – a Wikipedia-like Chinese language website.
Arthur Chen, better known by his Chinese name Chen Feiyu, was born in the US in 2000. He studied at Beijing Jingshan School and then transferred to Tabor Academy, a private boarding school in Massachusetts. In 2019, he was admitted into Beijing Film Academy. Because he held American nationality at that time, the admission process to enter the film academy in China was a simple interview, while his Chinese peers had to go through the extremely-competitive College Entrance Examination, also known as Gaokao, to be enrolled.
As the discussion around him kept piling up, Chen's studio finally made an official announcement on Weibo on July 24, proving that Chen "is now a Chinese citizen". According to his studio, Chen has been preparing to for the change since 2018. As the procedure was complicated and took longer than expected, he wasn't able to obtain the result until this month.
The move didn't soothe the anger of netizens, however. "He's an 'exquisitely self-interest' person," one netizen commented under the post, doubting about Chen's timing of the change. "Why he didn't change it before he entered university? He's taking advantage of the rule. That's not fair to others."
Despite the negative comments, many fans supported him and think the change was motivate by nothing but "love of his motherland".
Chen Feiyu is the second son of China's leading director Chen Kaige and famous actress Chen Hong, who is known for her role as Princess Taiping in the TV series Palace of Desire. Gaining attention with his clean, handsome looks and famous family background, Chen has appeared in many films and TV series such as Sacrifice 赵氏孤儿 zhào shì gū ér and Ever Night 将夜 jiāng yè
Acting prodigy Rong Zishan becomes volunteer ambassador of Beijing International Film Festival
As the 11th annual Beijing International Film Festival is around the corner, more surprises arecoming in celebration. Lately, 16-year-old actor Rong Zishan was announced as the volunteer ambassador for the festival that is about to open on Aug 14.
Born in 2006, Rong Zishan broke into the show business through a KFC commercial in 2010. After that, he appeared in the feature movie Mountains May Depart 山河故人 shān hé gù rén directed by Jia Zhangke, a famous Chinese film director and screenwriter, when he was 9 years old in 2015.
He became famous overnight through the incredibly popular crime drama The Bad Kids that premiered on Chinese video streaming platform iQiyi in June 2020 (and is available with English subtitles!). It quickly became a social media hit with 1.12 billion topic posts on Weibo in a month. Rong's perfect performance also won him The Best New Actor Award at 2020's Busan Film Festival's Asian Content Awards.
Rong entered the entertainment industry as a child, but now this 16-year-old young man is 1.82 meters tall. In addition to height, he's also been gaining acting skills. He is routinely acclaimed for his performances by directors, colleagues, and critics, and his pure eyes and complex temperament that combines a gentle and catty nature have also left a deep impression on audiences.
Apart from his success on the big screen and TV series, Rong Zishan is also the darling of the fashion circle. In 2014, Rong won a children's model competition. Since then he has appeared in many top fashion magazines in China such as ESQURIEfine, Harper's BAZAAR MEN, and COSMOPOLITAN.
READ: Renowned Actress Gong Li Named Jury President of Beijing Int'l Film Festival
Images: Beijing International Film Festival, Douban, Weibo
