Fan Bingbing sets social media alight with comeback rumours
- Fan disappeared from the limelight last year after a tax evasion scandal
- She recently attended a gala in Beijing, sparking rumours of an imminent comeback
Disgraced Chinese film star Fan Bingbing’s reappearance in public after an almost year-long absence following a tax evasion scandal has set the Chinese social media and entertainment circles abuzz with rumours that she is staging an all-out comeback.
Fan attended a Beijing gala on Monday night in celebration of the ninth anniversary of iQiyi, a popular Chinese video streaming platform. She wore a pink Alexander McQueen blazer matched with a Louis Vuitton cat face shoulder bag.
It was the first sighting of the 37-year-old actress since July 2018, when she visited a children’s hospital. The actress posted an Instagram photo of herself at the iQiyi event. Other Chinese stars at the event included model-actress Angelababy and actor Du Chun.
Fan last posted on Instagram on February 4, wishing fans a happy Chinese New Year. Before that, her account had been blank, with the last post being in May 2018, after news of her tax scandal broke. Her disappearance from public and social media led to widespread rumours that she had fled China or been placed under house arrest by the authorities.
In addition to attending the iQiyi Beijing event, recent promotional activity for her cosmetics brand Fan Beauty Secret reinforced rumours she was staging a showbiz comeback. Fan Beauty Secret’s official Weibo account began promoting a new line of face masks on April 23. A video of Fan promoting the face masks was posted on the official Weibo account on April 24.
A promotion poster for the face masks says Fan is the founder of Fan Beauty Secret. Priced at 60 yuan (US$) apiece and 588 yuan a box, the masks are more affordable than those sold by the Western company Fan had served as spokesperson for before the tax scandal broke.