Actress Investigated for Tax Fraud After Multi-Million-Dollar Payday

Chinese actress Zheng Shuang is being investigated by Chinese authorities for tax evasion and an extremely high salary that supersedes the government-approved maximum after allegedly reporting that she made $24.6 million for working a single show. For context, Variety reports the single payment is far more than what Gal Gadot made for her role in Wonder Woman 1984 ($10 million), it scores well beyond Margot Robbie's compensation for Birds of Prey ($9-10 million), and completely blows Joaquin Phoenix's Joker salary ($4.5 million) out of the water, making the 29-year-old one of the highest paid actresses in the world.

The investigation was sparked after screenshots surfaced supposedly revealing she took home $24.6 million (160 million RMB) for 77 days of filming on the upcoming 50-episode series A Chinese Ghost Story. The show is supported by Tencent and Beijing Culture, along with others. The screenshots were posted by her ex-partner Zhang Heng, a celebrity producer. Zhang posted screenshots of the couple's text message conversation where they discussed her possible salary for the series. She was reportedly offered $23.1 million (RMB150 million) for the role, at first, but she was trying to negotiate for $27.8 million (RMB180 million). He also alleged that she abandoned her dog after it became sick because she was unwilling to pay for its $300 medical treatment.

Zhang also claimed that his former partner attempted to sneak her earnings past the government by using "yin yang" contracts, which are duplicate contracts where a lower sum is reported on the one sent to the tax bureau and the rest of the payment appears on another. The actress allegedly signed one contract showing that she made $7.3 million (RMB48 million) for the job, but the other document shows the remaining amount was to be sent to a company seemingly connected to her mother.

The former couple are said to be known for their public antics. The two went viral in January after Zhang accused Zheng of leaving him and their two children, who were born in the U.S. via surrogate. He alleged she was unwilling to go through the legal process so that they could leave America and return to China. The issue prompted an overall conversation regarding surrogates –– the practice is considered illegal in China.