X-Men actress Fan Bingbing hits back at fugitive tycoon Guo Wengui with US lawsuit
Chinese actress Fan Bingbing announced on Thursday she was suing exiled tycoon Guo Wengui in the United States for defamation, joining a queue of plaintiffs hitting back at the fugitive over largely unsubstantiated allegations.
In a statement posted on Weibo, China’s version of Twitter, Fan’s management team accused the Chinese businessman of “malicious slander” that had “severely damaged [her] reputation”.
Guo, who now lives in New York, posted a video on YouTube last month, making allegations about a number of female celebrities, including Fan, and their connections to a senior Communist Party leader.
“Guo Wengui’s false claims targeting Ms Fan published in overseas media were fabricated out of thin air,” Fan’s Weibo statement said.
It said Los Angeles-based law firm Lavely & Singer was representing Fan in the case and had started formal legal proceedings against Guo.