Chinese pop star Kris Wu was arrested Monday over allegations of rape, in a high-profile case that has drawn widespread criticism on social media.
The 30-year-old singer is accused of having sex with a 17-year-old while she was drunk.
The prosecutor’s office of the Beijing district of Chaoyang said in a one-sentence statement that Wu’s arrest was formally approved but gave no details of the charges.
In July, a 19-year-old university student named Du Meizhu began posting about the allegations on social media, alleging that Wu had promised her and other women careers in the entertainment industry in exchange for sexual favours.
She claimed that she knew of eight victims, including herself, and that two were minors. In China, the age of consent is 14.
She alleged that Wu had paid her 500,000 yuan (£56,100) to “keep quiet”, but she chose to speak out instead, as she wished to be “the last victim”.
“I didn’t respond earlier because I didn’t want to interfere with judicial proceedings... but I cannot bear it anymore,” Wu wrote on the Chinese microblogging website Weibo.
“I declare that I met Miss Du only once at a gathering organised by a friend on 5 December 2020,” Wu wrote in his statement. “There was no such thing as forced drinking, confiscation of phones, or any other details alleged in her stories.”
Brands including Kans and Libai terminated their contacts with Wu following the accusations.
Other international brands such as Kiehl’s, Porsche and Bestore also removed the star from their social media profiles on Weibo.
Wu has also been serving as a brand ambassador of Louis Vuitton, Bulgari, Lancôme and L’Oreal.
