Brands drop former EXO member Kris Wu after sexual misconduct allegations

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Several luxury brands dumped Chinese-Canadian actor Kris Wu after allegations of his sexual misconduct sparked public outrage and boycott threats.

The allegations: Wu, 30, who rose to fame as a member of K-pop boy group EXO, is accused of coercing young women into having sex by giving them opportunities in show business.

Wus’ accuser Du Meizhu, 18, first showed up on July 8 with screenshots of alleged conversations between them, as well as people she said worked for him, according to the New York Times. She described her dealings with two suspected associates.

A screenshot dated July 2020 shows someone asking Du if she was interested in working in films. This person later revealed that he worked for the Wus studio.

Du, then 17, said she was invited to Wus’ house. However, she was reportedly forced to drink alcohol once there. She eventually lost consciousness and ended up in Wus’ bed, she said. After the alleged incident, she wrote on Weibo, indeed, we are all moved when we see your innocent expression, but that doesn’t mean we want to become toys you can cheat on!

Soon another associate reportedly contacted Du and offered him what she believed to be secret money. When she declined the offer, she was reportedly threatened with legal action. Later, 500,000 yuan (about $ 80,000) was transferred to her bank account. She said she returned the money in batches.

Others have since started posting similar claims against Wu. Among them is Zhang Dansan, a former member of a girl group who allegedly shared screenshots of Wu allegedly asking her if she was a virgin.

Wus Response: Wu, who left EXO in 2014 to pursue a solo career in China, denied all the allegations in a statement Monday.

I only met this woman once on December 5, 2020 while he was with a group of friends, he said of Du, according to Variety. I declare that I have never done anything like selecting concubines, forcing women to have sex, drugging people to rape them or getting involved with underage girls!

Wu maintained that he did not force the woman to drink. There were a lot of people there that day who can testify, he said, according to ABC News.

The age of consent in China is 14. Wu then assured the public, if there really had been this behavior, I would certainly gladly go to jail.

Brands cut ties: The scandal sparked a massive backlash that saw some threats to boycott companies with existing partnerships with Wu. As of this week, at least 11 luxury brands have reportedly suspended or abandoned deals with the 30-year-old. years.

The story continues

Bulgari, Kiehls, Lancome, LOral, Porsche and Vattie, among others, have started removing social media posts featuring Wu. Chinese companies such as Tencent Video and Master Kong Ice Tea have also dropped appearances and deals. with Wu, the Associated Press noted.

Louis Vuitton, which temporarily cut the related posts and reinstated them later, suspended only Wu. Social media users criticized the company for not cutting ties with him.

Featured image (cropped) via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.5)

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