In 2021, after rape allegations emerged on Chinese social media,[9][10] Wu was investigated by the Chinese authorities. He was subsequently sentenced to 13 years of imprisonment for forcing three intoxicated women to have sex with him on November 25, 2022, by the Chinese courts,[11] and was separately fined CN¥600 million (US$84 million) for tax evasion. In November 2023, he lost an appeal of the rape trial.[12]
Early life
Wu was born Li Jiaheng (Chinese: 李嘉恒; pinyin: Lǐ Jiāhéng) on November 6, 1990, in Guangzhou, Guangdong,[13] to Stacey Yu Wu (Chinese: 吴雨; pinyin: Wú Yǔ; previously 吴秀芹; Wú Xiùqín)[14] and Li Kaiming (Chinese: 李开明; pinyin: Lǐ Kāimíng). Soon after his birth, he was sent to Baiyin, Gansu and was brought up by his grandparents until 5, when he returned to Guangzhou to attend primary school. His parents divorced when he was 10, after which he adopted his mother's surname, Wu, in his Chinese name.[15] The same year, he and his mother immigrated to Vancouver, Canada, where he went by the name Kevin Li, using his father's surname.[16] In the following years, his mother traveled between Canada and China to manage her business, until she decided to close all her businesses to devote herself full-time to her son.[17]
In 2005, Wu returned to Guangzhou with his mother, who was there to finalize her business affairs. Wu attended Guangzhou No. 7 Middle School, where he was the basketball team captain. He wanted to be a professional player but his mother disagreed. After one year in Guangzhou, when his mother had closed all her business, she took him back to Vancouver against his wishes. He attended Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School before transferring to Point Grey Secondary School. During high school, he held a job as a server at an Asian karaoke parlour, in part to relieve his mother's financial pressure.[1][18]
In 2007, just shy of 17, Wu, along with a friend, attended SM Entertainment's Canadian global auditions, which were held in Vancouver. After passing several rounds of selection, Wu traveled to Seoul, South Korea, with his mother that winter. SM arranged for him to undergo plastic surgery, after which he returned to Canada to recover for eight months.[19] The same year, he changed his legal name to Wu Yi Fan.[19] In a later interview, Wu cited his increasingly tense relationship with his mother and the financial pressure of college tuition as the main reasons he chose to go to South Korea.[17] In the summer of 2008, Wu went to Korea alone, living with dozens of trainees in the dorm next to SM's headquarters in Gangnam, Seoul. He was trained for four years, during which he became friends with American-Korean trainee Kevin Shin, who quit SM in 2010 after three years of training.[13]
On February 17, 2012, Wu was introduced as the eleventh member of Exo.[20] In April 2012, Exo made their debut and quickly became one of the most popular K-pop groups in South Korea and internationally, achieving commercial success with their studio album XOXO and their hit song "Growl" in 2013. The album became the first album by a Korea-based artist in twelve years to sell over one million copies, and is the 12th best selling album of all time in Korea.[21] Before leaving the group, Wu was featured on Exo's Overdose album, which was released in May 2014 and became the best selling album of 2014 in South Korea.[citation needed]
Wu Yifan at Hallyu Star Street in March 2014
2014–2016: Solo debut and other activities
Wu released "Time Boils the Rain" as part of the soundtrack for the Chinese box office hit Tiny Times 3 in July 2014.[22] In the following year, he became the youngest celebrity to have a wax figure at Madame Tussauds Shanghai and was named "Newcomer of the Year" by Esquire China.[23][24]
Wu made his film debut in Somewhere Only We Know, directed by Xu Jinglei.[25] The film was released on February 14, 2015, and debuted first place on the Chinese box office, grossing US$37.81 million in six days following its release.[26] He won the "Best Newcomer Award" at the 3rd China International Film Festival London for his performance.[27]
In February 2017, Wu represented China at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles.[43] The same month, Wu accepted his second invitation to play in the 2017 NBA All-Star Game in New Orleans.[44]Forbes listed Wu their 30 Under 30 Asia 2017 list which comprises 30 influential people under 30 years old who have made substantial effect in their fields.[45]
In October 2017, Wu released "Deserve", featuring American rapper Travis Scott. Upon its release, "Deserve" placed No. 1 on the U.S. iTunes chart, making Wu the only Chinese artist to achieve the feat.[47] At the end of 2017, Wu released a single, "B.M.". Kris released another single, "Miss You" featuring Zhao Liying on Christmas Day 2017. The music video was released on December 28.[48]
As of April 2018, future music from Wu will be released internationally, excluding Japan and Korea, through a partnership of Universal Music China, Interscope in the United States and Island Records in the United Kingdom[50] Wu's debut album Antares featuring the 2018 singles "Like That" and "Freedom" (featuring Jhené Aiko) was released on November 2, 2018.[51]
On April 19, 2019, Wu released a single, "Big Bowl, Thick Noodle", the music video for which was viewed over 90 million times on streaming site Miaopai.[52] Wu then embarked on his Alive Tour, performing at cities across China.[53] On November 6, 2019, his 29th birthday, Wu released a second single, "Eternal Love", along with an accompanying micro film starring himself and Japanese model Kōki.[54]
On April 22, 2020, Wu released the four-track EP Testing, preceded by the single "Aurora" on April 15. The EP was pre-ordered one million times just 87 minutes after being made available on Tencent streaming platform QQ Music, marking a new record for the platform. The EP features three Chinese songs and one in English.[55][56]
Personal life
In 2013, Wu was rumored to be in a relationship with Iris aka Lin Xiya, former member of Baby Vox, with intimate bed photos of them being leaked. In 2021, after Wu was arrested for rape, Lin spoke about the incident from seven years ago on Weibo, saying that the photos were stolen and not self-published. After the leak, she suffered from cyberbullying and became depressed.[57]
On June 21, 2016, internet influencer "Little G Na" (Huang Kaijia) claimed to be Wu's girlfriend and leaked bed photos of Wu. Audios suggesting that Wu mingled with multiple women also surfaced. Wu's studio later stated that the images and audio were fabricated.[58] During this time, Weibo user Wang Jisheng started the hashtag "Paowang (lit. sex king) Wu Yi Fan" on Weibo, leading to a lawsuit from Wu for defamation. On January 12, 2017, the court ruled in favor of Wu, awarding him 32,200 RMB in damages, which bankrupted Wang. In August, 2021, after Wu was arrested for rape, Wu's lawyer in the defamation case returned 10,000 RMB, the legal fees that the court had ordered Wang to bear, to support Wang's livelihood.[59]
In 2018, rumors emerged online that Wu held a "bride-show" at a nightclub in Los Angeles. Wu's studio denied the allegations and the Weibo user who posted the rumors later apologized.[60] On August 6, 2021, Chinese-American lawyer Jing Wang in Orange County, California claimed that Wu had raped an underage fan following the "bride-show" in Los Angeles. The victim, now an adult, was preparing to file a lawsuit, but there have been no further developments in the case.[61]
On August 17, 2019, Wu was photographed holding hands with Qin Niuzhengwei (now known as Qin Yulu), a student at the Beijing Film Academy. On August 31, Qin denied that they were in a relationship.[62]
Endorsements and ambassadorship
In 2015, Wu became the youth ambassador for the 3rd Silk Road International Film Festival in Xi'an.[63]
In 2016, he became the first endorser for Mixxtail.[64]Mercedes-Benz chose Wu as their brand ambassador in China for their Smart division[65] and introduced the limited edition "Kris Wu Edition" smart.[66] Wu has also been made the global ambassador for I.T Cashback Card under American Express Hong Kong. The brand made him chief design advisor and the face of their latest in-house brand, Under Garden. He designed the lookbook for the latest collection.[67]Burberry chose Wu as their global ambassador in 2016, making him the first non-British as well as the first Asian person to be the face of the brand.[68] It was reported that Burberry experienced a growth in sales and awareness with Chinese shoppers thanks to Kris' campaign.[69]
In June 2014, Wu joined Heart Ali, a project started by Fan Bingbing and Chen Lizhi (the general manager of Beijing Maite Media). The charity project is aimed at helping children suffering from congenital heart defects in Ngari Prefecture in Tibet.[72]
On January 21, 2016, he launched his own charity project called Extraordinary Honorary Court (不凡荣誉球场), a collaboration project with Sina, Weibo Sports, and Weibo Charity. The goal is to spread basketball in middle schools in China to encourage all basketball-loving youth to continue their dreams of pursuing this sport.[73] Wu was also announced as the ambassador for China's Jr. NBA program and is part of the program's mentor group.[74][75]
Legal issues and controversies
SM Entertainment lawsuit
On May 15, 2014, Wu filed a lawsuit against the agency to terminate his contract.[76]SM Entertainment claimed to be completely taken aback despite having dealt with several disputes regarding their contracts in the past.[77]
On July 30, 2015, SM Entertainment filed a lawsuit against Wu and the Chinese companies working with him at the Beijing court, stating that "these activities have infringed the rights of the EXO members and SM, and have caused great financial harm to us and our partners. This is not only an abuse of the system, but also an unethical move that has betrayed the trust of this company and the other members."[78] The following day, Wu released a statement defending himself stating that SM Entertainment had made him leave the group for several months and that SM Entertainment's way of mistreating and neglecting their artists resulted in serious health issues: he had to take medication to be able to work from July 2013 to January 2014, when he was diagnosed with myocarditis.[79] A settlement was reached that he will be under their management in only Korea and Japan.[80]
On July 8, 2021, Du Meizhu, a 19-year-old Chinese college student, posted allegations online accusing Wu of a pattern of sexual assault involving multiple women and girls, some underage, while they were unconscious or under the influence of alcohol. Through Weibo, Du stated she was raped while intoxicated on December 5, 2020, at age 18, and that she was speaking for at least seven other victims, two of whom were minors at the time of the crime.[81]
The allegations were denied by Wu,[82] and were then investigated by the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau and other authorities. Wu was detained by police in Beijing on July 31, 2021, and formally arrested on August 16, 2021, on suspicion of rape.[83][84] Over a dozen brands, including Bulgari, Lancôme, Louis Vuitton and Porsche, ended ties with him after his detainment.[85][86][87][88] On November 25, 2022, Chaoyang District People's Court in Beijing sentenced Wu to a total of 13 years in prison on two separate charges; 11 years 6 months for having sex with 3 women while they were drunk, 1 year 10 months for assembling a crowd to engage in promiscuous activities. He will be deported from China after serving his sentence.[89][7] Wu was also fined an additional ¥600 million yuan (US$84 million) for tax evasion.[90][91][92][93]
On July 25, 2023, the appeal trial was held at the Third Intermediate People's Court of Beijing in private.[94] On November 24, 2023, the appeal was rejected.[95][12]
^Gong, Mina (November 25, 2022). 엑소 출신 크리스, 中서 성폭력 혐의로 '징역 13년+강제 추방' [EXO former Chris, '13 years in prison + forced deportation' for sexual assault charges in China]. Spotify News (in Korean). Retrieved November 25, 2022.
^"吴亦凡涉强奸聚众淫乱案二审开庭 | 联合早报" [The second trial of Kris Wu's rape case is being held]. www.zaobao.com.sg (in Simplified Chinese). July 25, 2023. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
^"吴亦凡强奸、聚众淫乱案 二审结果出炉！". 8world Entertainment Lifestyle (in Chinese (Singapore)). November 24, 2023. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
In 2010, the list started to include Chinese celebrities born in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and other countries. Prior to that it only included celebrities born in mainland China.
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