Major Pop Star Dropped by Brand Partners After Sexual Assault Allegations Surface

Kris Wu, a Chinese-Canadian pop star who acted alongside Vin Diesel in XXX: Return of Xander Cage, is losing brand endorsement deals after allegations that he lured an underage girl for sex surfaced on social media in China. Earlier this month, an 18-year-old student who claimed she was an ex-girlfriend of the 30-year-old singer claimed on Sina Weibo that Wu would lure young women with roles in music videos. Wu's managers reportedly filed a defamation lawsuit against Du.

The student published her post on the Chinese microblogging site on July 8, reports The Straights Times. She claimed Wu lured underage women with opportunities to appear in music videos and signing contracts. She accused him of preferring women born after 2000. She also claimed to have screenshots of conversations with the alleged victims who claimed Wu would play drinking games or talk them into sleeping with him.

Wu's team said it will file a defamation suit and a police report against Du. Wu's lawyers in Beijing also denied the allegations and accused Du of faking the screenshots. Du later insisted she was telling the truth in subsequent posts. "We just want a simple apology. Why is it so hard?" she wrote in one message.

Du's allegations began trending on Chinese social media again this weekend after Du gave more details in an interview with NetEase Entertainment, reports the Global Times. She claimed there are more than eight victims, including herself, and at least two are minors. She claims she was paid about 500,000 yuan ($77,166) in hush money, but she returned the money. In the interview, Du said Wu would lure the alleged victims for sex.

Following the interview, Lancome, Kiehl's, and Bestore all deleted or hid social media posts featuring Wu. The cosmetics brand Kans also terminated its contract with the actor. China Central Television News also deleted a post that promoted Wu's latest song. Wu has not commented on the allegations since July 8.

Wu, whose real name is Wu Yi Fan, was born in Guangzhou, China, but moved to Vancouver with his mother when he was 10. He gained fame as a member of the South Korean-Chinese boy band EXO from 2012 to 2014. In 2015, he starred in his first film, Somewhere Only We Know. His second film, Mr. Six, is one of the highest-grossing films in China. In 2017, he starred in XXX: Return of Xander Cage and Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. Last year, he voiced a character in the animated L.O.R.D.: Legend of Ravaging Dynasties 2.