Popstar and actor Kris Wu detained in China by the police on suspicion of rape

August 2, 2021 - 1:21 PM IST

Chinese-Canadian celebrity Wu Yi Fan, known as Kris Wu, is making headlines amid the growing allegations of luring young girls, including underage teenagers, into having sex with him. One of the alleged victims made allegations that have resulted in a huge backlash towards Wu in China. Now, the actor-singer has been detained by Chinese police on suspicion of rape.

Popstar and actor Kris Wu detained in China by the police on suspicion of rape

According to Variety, the Beijing Chaoyang district police informed on their official Weibo on July 31, “In response to internet reports ‘Wu X-fan has repeatedly tricked young women into having sex’ and other related issues, Wu X-fan (male, 30, Canadian) has been detained in accordance with the law after police investigations for the suspected crime of rape.”

Wu is one of the well-known names in China's entertainment sector. After the Chinese Police's announcement, the post reportedly garnered over 3.33 million likes. The hashtag “#Wu Yifan has been detained” became the number one search on the platform, Weibo, China's social media platform similar to Twitter.

Several big brands including Louis Vuitton, Porsche, French beauty brand Lancôme, German brand Tempo, food brand Master Kong, platform Tencent Video, kitchen appliance manufacturer Vatti, haircare brand Seeyoung, and EtherealSound have cut ties with him.

According to BBC News, "In recent weeks, 19-year-old university student Du Meizhu had been posting allegations online that Wu had lured teenage girls into having sex with him, by promising lucrative opportunities in the music or acting industries which never materialised.

Ms. Du spoke to the NetEase site and alleged that she was aware of atleast eight victims including herself. In China, the age of consent is 14. She said that two of them were minors. She claimed that she first met Wu when she was 17. She was invited to his home with other girls and they were pressured into drink alcohol. She claimed that next day she woke up in his bed.

In her interview, she went onto claim that Wu would pay allegedly other women to introduce him to more girls. BBC reports, "Ms. Du alleged that Wu had paid her 500,000 yuan ($77,130, £56,100) to 'keep quiet', but decided to speak out now as she wanted to be 'the last victim'. She said she was repaying the money and was ready to face legal action."

On July 19 morning, Wu took to his Sina Weibo account to post a statement. "I have never cheated, there are no 'underaged girls' or anything like that. If I did such things, I would put myself in jail!" Wu said, according to Global Times.

In a statement released by Wu's studio, they claim that the claims made by Ms. Du are false. The studio also alleged that she would contact the studio and demanded huge sums of money for her to delete the social media posts. The studio revealed they had reported the case to the public security organs for investigation.