K-pop star Kris Wu faces date-rape allegations, denies predatory sex behavior
One of China’s most popular celebrities is under fire after a young woman on Sunday accused of him of raping her while she was unconscious and paying her hush money to keep the allegations from the public.
Actor and singer Kris Wu, a former member of the K-pop group EXO, took to social media on Monday to deny ever engaging in “date rape,” having sex with underage girls or coercing women into sex. The 30-year-old’s team also said it would take legal action against the woman.
The accuser, Du Meizhu, had been sharing her allegations online for weeks, but she gave details for the first time over the weekend in a bombshell interview for the Chinese website NetEase.
She said Wu lured her and other girls into his home when she was 17 last year and pressured them to drink alcohol, according to multiple reports. Du, who’s now 19, said she eventually passed out and woke up the next day in Wu’s bed, the BBC reported Monday.
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The Chinese Canadian celebrity later paid her 500,000 yuan — about $77,000 — to keep quiet, she said, but Du reportedly returned the money and decided to speak out as she wanted to be “the last victim.”
The young woman also said she knows of at least seven other teenage girls who have had similar encounters with Wu, including two who are still under 18 and “don’t want their lives to be disturbed but wish to see him punished,” according to a translation by The Guardian.
In China, the legal age of consent is 14.
The allegations caused an outcry on China’s social media platforms and led multiple brands to cut ties with Wu. The growing list of companies includes music streaming platform Yunting, skincare brand Kans and detergent maker Libai, the Guardian reported.
Wu, who reportedly grew up between Vancouver and Guangzhou, rose to fame as one of 11 members of the South Korean-Chinese boy band EXO and later launched his own career as a rapper, singer and model.
