Kris Wu has finally spoken out about the sexual abuse allegations, using his platform to try and set the record straight. Du Meizhu, 19, accused the Chinese-Canadian K-pop superstar of forcing her to drink at a party before engaging in non-consensual sex with her when she was 17 years old.
Wu has since lost several sponsors amid the backlash after an alleged victim claimed he forced underaged girls to have sex with him in exchange for celebrity favors. Several brands in China have cut ties with Wu, including cosmetic brand, Kans, and detergent brand Libai. Kris Wu has since left hiding to address the accusations.
Meizhu claimed that Kris Wu lured young girls, including underage teens, into have sex with him, promising them opportunities in the entertainment industry, which never materialized. Du Meizhu posted the allegations on social media, accusing the rapper of using his status as a musician and actor to lure her and eight other girls into having sex.
The alleged victim has since exposed more of the story in an interview with NetEase. Meizhu said she met Kris Wu when she was 17 years old after being invited to his home along with a group of other female teens. Wu allegedly invited Meizhu to his home under the pretense that there would be an audition since he claimed his managers would be present.
Meizhu said that when she arrived, Wu and his team told her to stay and insisted that she drink. “I became unconscious soon,” she recalled during the July 18 interview. “When I woke up again, I was on Wu’s bed.” She added that Wu did not use a condom during the alleged rape.
During the interview, Du Meizhu also claimed that the K-pop star would pay other women he slept with to introduce more girls to him, though it wasn’t clear if this was the case with Meizhu. She added that after the incident, Kris Wu offered her 500,000 yuan or $77,130 to “keep quiet” about the alleged rape.
In the months following the incident, Meizhu explained that Wu convinced her they were in a relationship, using flirtatious text messages to prove it. She said she truly thought they were an item because he even told her that he wanted to introduce her to his mother. Then, after a while, Wu went silent. Meizhu says she was scared to reveal the story but realized that it was the right thing to do. She told NetEase that she wanted to be the last of his victims.
Du Meizhu also learned that several other women have been affected by similar circumstances, reportedly lured by Kris Wu into having nonconsensual sex. According to the victim, some were minors. She also claimed that two of the girls have evidence against the 30-year-old star.
The allegations have sparked a huge backlash against Kris Wu, who has since filed a defamation lawsuit against Meizhu. Wu’s management team has also denied the allegations, asserting that the victim fabricated the story.
Previously, Wu remained relatively silent on the matter, despite several major brands cutting ties with him. He has since come out of hiding to address the allegations, writing on the microblogging platform, Weibo, that he “only met Miss Du once at a friend’s party on December 5, 2020.”
In the statement, Wu said that there was “NO enforced alcohol! No collecting cellphone! No so-called details described by her!” He said that “there were no such things as forced drinking, confiscation of phones, or any other details alleged in her stories. There were many people present at the party, who can and will testify.”
He continued, giving his “sincere apologies for the disturbances caused to the public. The accusations such as ‘selecting concubine,’ ‘gang rape,’ ‘sedation – facilitated sexual assault,’ and ‘sex involving minors’ were all false. I would have sent myself to jail if I had committed any of these crimes. Please be assured about that.”
Kris Wu also took the time to explain why he had been absent for so long, despite the accusations against him. “I didn’t respond earlier because I would rather not interfere with the legal process,” Wu wrote. “Unfortunately, my silence gave the rumormonger the misimpression that she could spread more fabricated stories. I, therefore, decide not to keep silent anymore.”
Since the stories regarding Wu have surfaced, multiple sponsors have come forth and removed all ties with the Chinese-Canadian rapper. Wu, who was part of the K-pop supergroup, Exo, lost contracts with the Shanghai cosmetics brand Kans, as well as the detergent brand Libai. The TV program, Ethereal Sound, also said it wad cut ties with the actor.
Kiehl’s and the snack brand, Bestore, removed all mentions of Wu on their Weibo pages. Kris Wu left his K-pop group, Exo, back in 2014 to pursue a solo career as a singer and actor. In 2017, Wu became a judge on The Rap of China, a hip-hop competition show that has run for four seasons.
Du Meizhu used her interview to make a call against Wu, demanding that he personally apologize to his victims within 24 hours and that he leave the music industry (and China) forever. She also used her platform to demean Wu’s appearance, claiming he is “Wu Toothpick,” which many believe is a jab at his anatomy.
Wu has not yet made a statement regarding an apology to the alleged victims, nor has he confirmed whether he would exit the music industry.
