Fallen stars in China: celebrity brushes with the law, censored by authorities or self-imposed exile. Where are they now, will they shine again?
- Fan Bingbing to Jaycee Chan, where are China’s scandal-hit celebrities?
- Some attempt comeback, while others shun limelight for quiet life
Being a celebrity in China can be a tricky business and stars must watch what they say and do or risk detention or blacklisting by the authorities.
In recent years, many have fallen foul of mainland laws and regulations, so the Post has compiled a list of celebrities who have found themselves in hot water, and what they are doing now.
Fan Bingbing
Fan Bingbing, 42, remains one of China’s most prominent actresses, partly because she was the main character in the country’s most famous celebrity disappearance.
In 2017, she was featured on the cover of Time Magazine as one of the “100 people who have influenced the world”.
Just a year later, the actress was embroiled in a high-profile tax evasion scandal that received international attention because she disappeared without a trace for months.
As the case concluded, Fan and her companies were ordered to pay about 880 million yuan (US$124 million) in fines.
In the years since, she has slowly worked her way back into a comeback with the launch of her beauty brand, Fan Beauty, in April 2019.
In 2023, she resumed her career as an actress in the Hong Kong-produced film Green Night.
Kris Wu (Wu Yifan)
Kris Wu, 33, is a Canadian-Chinese actor, singer, and former member of the K-pop band EXO.
In 2021, he was accused of raping multiple women by spiking their drinks and was sentenced to 13 years in prison for the crime. He will be deported upon release.
All of his music, film, and television productions have been banned in China, and his social media presence deleted.
Zheng Shuang
Zheng Shuang, 32, was one of China’s most famous actresses when she became embroiled in a surrogacy scandal in 2021.
She was accused of abandoning her two unborn surrogate babies to her boyfriend in the United States, who released an audio recording of Zheng complaining that abortion was not a viable option because the surrogate mothers had been pregnant for more than seven months.
She was banned from appearing in television dramas and other entertainment projects, and several brands, including Prada, also abandoned her.
After being cancelled in China, she has reportedly been focusing on legal matters and living in the US with her two sons.
Zhang Zhehan
Actor Zhang Zhehan, 32, won widespread acclaim for his portrayal of the male lead Zhou Zishu in the ancient action drama Word of Honor.
However, in 2021, he was blacklisted for violating political sensitivities after photos of him posing outside the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo became public.
The Yasukuni Shrine is a highy sensitive topic in China because it honors 14 convicted Class-A war criminals from Japan’s imperial past.
Zhang released a solo album in Taiwan and performed three solo concerts in Thailand and Malaysia in 2023. His latest concert took place in Hong Kong last month.
Li Yifeng
Li Yifeng, 36, had 61 million followers on Weibo and consistently won awards for being the Most Popular Drama Actor in China when he was detained in 2022 for visiting sex workers.
Major brands cancelled their contracts with him, and his fans burned the merchandise he endorsed.
A year later, he resumed a normal life.
In 2023, he showed up in his hometown of Chengdu, the capital city of southwestern China’s Sichuan province, and nearly 100 fans met him at the airport.
Zhou Libo
The renowned Chinese comedian, Zhou Libo, 56, created the haipai qingkou comedic style, which features extended monologues of social and political commentary.
He was jailed twice in 2017 on suspicion of sexual assault, extortion, and drug possession. His content was banned in China.
Zhou is now based in the US and said he was “travelling around the world”, according to his last post on Weibo in January 2023.
Ke Zhendong
Singer and actor Ke Zhendong, 32, from Taiwan won the Best Actor Award at the Taipei Film Awards and had 33 million Weibo followers in China when he was arrested in 2014 for drug abuse along with fellow actor Jaycee Chan.
On release, he held a press conference in Beijing and said he would “never touch drugs for the rest of his life” before returning to Taiwan.
In 2016, he starred in a mainland Chinese TV series, which was not well received, then, in 2021, he starred again in the Taiwan film Moneyboys, receiving a nomination for Best Leading Actor at the Golden Horse Awards.
Jaycee Chan (Fang Zuming)
The son of martial arts legend Jackie Chan, Jaycee Chan, 41, is a well-known singer and actor in Hong Kong and the US.
He faced legal troubles in 2014 when he was arrested for possession of marijuana in Beijing and was sentenced to six months in prison for “tolerating others taking drugs”.
After Chan was released he moved into directing films and created his own branding company.
