Concealing sex scandals in Asian showbiz
HONG KONG: In Asian showbiz, sex scandals usually remain concealed, unlike the unravelling of kinky behaviour in Hollywood over the past few days.
In 1999, superstar Jackie Chan had hogged the headlines when a former Miss Asia, Elaine Ng, was found to be pregnant with his child.
It was only years later that Jackie acknowledged his indiscretion, but he kept away from Ng and their daughter.
In 2012, Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi was accused by US-based dissident website Boxun.com of having sex with top Chinese officials, including the disgraced politician Bo Xilai. She sued for libel and settled out of court in 2013 after the site retracted its story.
People are much more reserved and conservative here in China or Asia. People are afraid of the consequences, such as losing their career. Candice Yu, executive secretary of Hong Kong Performing Artistes’ Guild
In Korea, where the Busan Film Festival opened this week, an unnamed actress this year accused leading indie director Kim Ki-duk of physical and verbal abuse during the filming of his 2013 movie Moebius. Through the Federation of Korean Movie Workers’ Union, she said that the director forced her to take part in an unscripted, violent sex scene. She withdrew from the film and was replaced. Kim denies the accusations and said that he was providing her with acting coaching on the first day of production. The case is currently with prosecutors.
In India, where rape and other violence against women has become a major social issue in recent years, there are multiple examples of sexual misconduct in show business. But the industry has barely tackled the issue.
Mahmood Farooqui, codirector of India’s 2011 foreignlanguage Oscar contender, Peepli (Live), was arrested in June 2015 on charges of raping an American woman.
He was sentenced to seven years in prison in August 2016, but acquitted and released in September 2017. The appeals court judge said: “Instances of woman (sic) behaviour are not unknown that a feeble no may mean a yes.”
Asia’s relatively conservative attitude towards sex, the fear of consequences that could jeopardise the lives of their families as well as careers, and public judgement are reasons that stop abuse victims in the Asian entertainment business from coming forward, industry insiders say.
Candice Yu, executive secretary of Hong Kong Performing Artistes’ Guild, said that her organisation has not received such complaints since she took over the position two years ago. But she does not deny such situations exist.
“People are much more reserved and conservative here in China or Asia. People are afraid of the consequences, such as losing their career,” Yu said. She said coming forward to reveal the truth about sexual assault was never easy for anyone, let alone those living in the limelight. “Many of the allegations against Harvey Weinstein referred to events that happened many years ago. But if our members seek help from us, we will definitely support them,” Yu pledged.