What’s trending?
The career free-fall of singer Kris Wu, accused of a series of sexual assaults, has taken a turn after police said a fraudster was behind the claims posted on social media over the past week.
The former boy band star has seen his commercial sponsorships dry up this week, as over a dozen companies (link in Chinese) severed relations or decided not to renew branding deals.
What’s the story?
A man has been arrested in East China’s Jiangsu province for blackmail days after police in the province accepted cases filed by both accused and accuser, one for blackmail and the other for sexual assault.
The police issued a statement Friday saying they had “questioned suspects, interviewed those involved, visited witnesses, obtained documentary evidence, and extracted online evidence.”
According to the statement, accuser Du Meizhu initially posted about her relationship with Wu in order to increase her Weibo readership. The police say that since July 16, however, posts by Du were written together with the arrested suspected with the aim of extracting money from the 30-year-old.
Police say they are still investigating claims made by Du that “Wu repeatedly tricked young women into sexual relations.”
Following the police statement, Du repeated her allegations against Wu, writing that his female agent brought her to his house under the pretext of a casting call, where she was pressured to drink and ushered to his bed.
What are people saying online?
Comments on the police post number 1.9 million, the most popular of which continue to offer support to Du.
The top comment, “liked” by 1.5 million accounts says “let’s count who still doesn’t believe Kris Wu.” Similarly, over 1 million agree with the comment that “what Du Meizhu says is true.”
Supporters of Du take some parts of the police statement as evidence of Wu’s guilt. “So he really chose a female accomplice to cheat on girls?” is another top comment.
Unappeased by the police, another commenter said, “Finding out what’s going on in the ‘grey market’ behind this case is the top priority!”
As for Wu’s career outlook, another wrote he “should be deplatformed, the Canadian should leave.” Wu holds Canadian nationality.
Another popular comment reads, “Regardless of whether he ends up in jail or not, as a failed manufactured idol without artistic value or virtue, he shouldn’t show his face on a public platform ever again.”
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