Brands Are Quietly Removing Vivian Hsu From Their Ads After She Got Implicated In Wang Leehom Divorce Saga
The 46-year-old has become collateral damage after Leehom’s ex-wife hinted that she was having an affair with the singer.
After Wang Leehom’s ex-wife, Lee Jinglei went public with a damning list of accusations against the 45-year-old singer last Friday (Dec 17), two female stars were implicated — Singaporean popstar, BY2’s Yumi Bai, 29, as well as Taiwanese singer-actress Vivian Hsu, 46.
Yumi’s involvement in the whole saga quickly became hot news, with saucy revelations like how Yumi allegedly sent intimate pictures to a very married Leehom. It also didn’t help that Jinglei directly responded to Yumi’s claims that she was innocent, writing that she would be willing to provide "proof" to the police back her accusation.
Yumi later claimed she officially dated Leehom, but Jinglei hit back by sharing that Leehom had told her he was merely “friends” with Yumi.
On the other hand, Vivian’s involvement was less talked-about. Netizens have commented on the issue, joking that Yumi's online 'battle' with Jinglei has “helped to shield” Vivian from the bad press.
“BY2's younger sister [Yumi] really bailed [Vivian] out,” one netizen wrote.
Leehom (in white) with Vivian (in purple) and friends during their gathering in Vivian's apartment
In Jinglei’s first post, she shared that Leehom was involved with a “married woman who has a child” who would constantly flirt with him even after both of them had their own spouses.
Jinglei also went on to state that Leehom “rushed over” to the married woman’s house for a gathering even though he knew that it would be against the law.
Earlier this year, it was reported that Leehom was facing a fine of up to NT$300,000 (S$14.5K) for violating COVID-19 restrictions after he attended a gathering at Vivian’s house with celeb pals Blackie Chen and his wife Christine Fan, as well as music producer Eric Chen before the official end of his quarantine period in Taiwan.
Thus, many speculated that Jinglei was referring to Vivian in the post. An anonymous informant claiming to be Vivian’s neighbour also went to the Taiwanese media, revealing that Leehom was seen visiting Vivian’s apartment in the middle of the night multiple times.
Following that, on Dec 18, Vivian released a statement denying all accusations. She refuted said neighbour’s claims, writing that Leehom only visited her apartment twice this year, both times with a group of friends.
Vivian also asserted that she “definitely has not done anything to disrespect” her husband, Singapore-based businessman Sean Lee.
She also called for Leehom to come forward and clarify the issue, writing: “Don't let these private matters affect the friends around you.”
As of press time, Leehom has not directly addressed his involvement with Vivian.
No more endorsements?
Regardless, this saga has definitely dealt a great blow to the star.
Vivian, who is known as the ‘Queen of Endorsements’, reportedly has 11 endorsement deals with different brands across Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia. Her reported earnings from these lucrative deals are estimated to be NT$56mil (S$2.74mil).
Since Leehom’s divorce saga went viral, netizens have discovered that the brands that engaged Vivian are quietly removing her from all promotional material. Employees of an eyewear brand endorsed by Vivian were photographed covering up her advertisement with another banner outside their shop.
Guess their customers won't be seeing Vivian anytime soon
When questioned, the staff declined to share if it was due to the Leehom saga, and would only say that it was done upon request from their head office.
A real estate agency that recently signed Vivian as their face also turned off their messaging function on Facebook. Another brand, which sells chicken essence, has also removed all trace of Vivian from their website.
Apart from endorsements, Vivian is also set to guest-star in the second season of upcoming Netflix drama, Light The Night, which will be released on Dec 30.
When reached for a comment, the team behind the drama shared that they will be proceeding with the planned publicity cycle for Light The Night, as Vivian’s role in the show is relatively small.
Photos: Vivian Hsu/Instagram, Sin Chew Daily
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