Brands Drop Kris Wu As Sex Scandal Allegations Gather Steam

Brands have severed ties with Chinese idol Kris Wu following an accusation emerging of Wu date-raping minors. Wu has denied the act.

The former EXO member was accused of targeting, and pressuring, a teenage girl and other young women for sex. The accusations, which Wu denied in multiple statements, have triggered widespread public outrage, according to media reports. 

On his Weibo account, Wu said did not respond to the initial accusations as he did not want to interfere with legal proceedings. He added that his silence resulted in the escalation from the accuser and his current statement comes as he cannot bear the allegations anymore. 

“I only met Ms Du (the teenage girl who accused Wu of raping) once at a friend’s gathering on 5 December 2020, I didn’t ply her with alcohol, confiscate her phone and do anything that she described,” he said. 

However, brands have decided to break ties or suspend collaborations with one of the most bankable endorsement magnets in the Chinese entertainment world. On its Weibo account, Luis Vuitton said on 19 July it decided to suspend the collaboration with Wu until the result of the judicial investigation is announced. However, Wu posted some photos about Luis Vuitton’s latest fall/winter collection on 8 July and the post is still on his account without deleting it. 

Meanwhile, Chinese cosmetic brand Kans announced on Weibo that it has already issued a letter to Wu to terminate the contract, while the collaboration between the brand and Wu had ended.  

According to a report from Global Times, Porsche, Lancome, Tempo, Libai, Tencent Video, Master Kong’s iced tea branch, kitchen appliance manufacturer Vatti, haircare brand Seeyoung, and EtherealSound, a major TV programme, have terminated their contracts with Wu. 

 There has been public outrage on Wu as more allegations and claims of his date-rape behaviours against women continue to brew online. Previously, singer Lin Xiya and online celebrity Xiao Gna previously accused Wu of harassing them, but the latest accusation has a greater impact on Wu’s career.