Wang Leehom scandal: China’s Communist Party warns celebrities to ‘pay attention to morals’ after singer’s divorce drama
- The public row between Wang Leehom and Lee Jinglei lit up the internet across Asia over the weekend
- China’s Communist Party, referring to ‘the recent case of the collapse of a celebrity image’, tells stars to pay attention to actions
China’s Communist Party on Sunday appeared to weigh in on the domestic war of words between one of Taiwan’s most famous couples, saying it was important for celebrities to pay attention to their actions.
Wang announced last Wednesday that he filed for a divorce with Lee, who almost immediately responded with an Instagram post that laid out a list of indiscretions that included serial cheating and soliciting sex workers.
Lee, who has three children with Wang, said the idol had used her as a “chess piece” and had controlled her throughout the marriage.
Wang’s initial attempt to claim innocence on Sunday was met with a fierce comment from Lee.
“You did everything to protect yourself. It is not shameful that you made a mistake, but that you did not feel remorseful and did not correct your mistake. You just kept on lying to fool the public,” Lee responded on Weibo.
Over the weekend, Wang’s father accused Lee of using a pregnancy to force the pop idol into marriage. Lee responded by threatening legal action if the Wang did not publicly apologise by 3pm on Sunday.
At noon on Monday, Wang apologised via Weibo, saying, “I no longer have any explanations or a defence. I did not manage the marriage properly, causing problems for my family. And I did not give the public the image that an idol should have. It was all my fault.”
“You just kept on lying to fool the public.”
The high-profile dispute blew up in both Taiwan and across the strait in mainland China, seemingly making enough noise to attract the Communist Party’s attention.
The commentary from the CCDI laid out reasons why stars should have good taste, integrity and responsibility, along with obeying the laws.
“If these stars do not discipline themselves, they will not be respected by others. They will eventually pay for their evildoings,” the agency wrote.
The incident came amid the backdrop of the mainland’s sweeping crackdown against celebrities “behaving badly”, which included the high-profile blacklisting of celebrities who were accused of behaviour that was either illegal or violated social norms.
At a plenum of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles earlier this month, President Xi Jinping said the industry should “pursue both professional excellence and moral integrity”.
He said the actions of entertainers and artists are not a private issue, and the “moral atmosphere in the entertainment sector will affect the ecology of both the industry and society”.
China Women’s Newspaper, a mouthpiece of the semi-government body All-China Women’s Federation, also criticised Wang on Saturday, saying:
“An open and tolerant society accepts creative music styles; however, it does not mean the society accepts a star’s promiscuous private life, nor his recklessness or a flawless-but-fake image,” wrote the newspaper.
