Brands drop Kris Wu over alleged predatory behaviour
Kris Wu, 30, one of China’s most valuable faces, is accused of infidelity and predatory behaviour by rumoured 19-year-old girlfriend Du Meizhu. The 19-year-old college student on 8 July shared screenshots of alleged conversations between Wu and her on Weibo. She also said that she was one of the victims.
Wu’s team denied all accusations and claimed that they will take legal actions. However, instead of a court summons, Meizhu disclosed that Wu's side reached out to her for a negotiation and settlement contract. She also shared a video of her receiving bank transfers from Kris Wu and his mother totaling 500,000 renminbi or $77,172. In an interview, she said that she is returning the money on installments and claimed that there are 30 more women with similar experience; two of whom are minors.
In the wake of the event, Shanghai-based beauty brand Kans on Sunday (18 July) became the first brand to take a stance and announced the termination of Wu's endorsement contract via Weibo. Meanwhile, Porsche, Master Kong Ice Tea, Vatti and Tencent’s King of Glory on the same day deleted all Weibo posts mentioning Wu. Louis Vuitton hid posts related to Wu temporarily, but made them public again shortly.
Other brands bound in contract with the EXO ex-member, such as Bulgari, Lancôme and L'Oréal, have not made any move to the day this article is written.
Correction:
Second sentence of first paragraph previously stated “The 19-year-old college student on 8 July shared screenshots of alleged conversations between Wu and underaged girls on Weibo.” The alleged conversations are between Du Meizhu and Wu. The sentence has been edited to “The 19-year-old college student on 8 July shared screenshots of alleged conversations between Wu and her on Weibo.”