Is The Case Of Cyndi Wang’s Leaked Bedroom Photo As Simple As It Seems?

You snooze, you lose. Cyndi Wang learnt that the hard way when a leaked bedroom photo of her recently went viral. In the pic, the 34-year-old erstwhile Priestess of Sweet is seen sleeping in bed in a white camisole and pink undies, with her hand covering her face.

Turns out that the photo, which began circulating on Facebook on Jul 26, was taken by her ex-beau, Yao Yuanhao, 35, while the pair were dating. Yuanhao said that he took the photo as he found the sight of her snoozing very cute. But the actor denied leaking the pic. He said that he had never sent his phone for repair in the last two years nor lost it. He also claimed he did not share the pic with anyone else, and didn’t know how the pic was leaked, adding that he had no intention of hurting her.

Cyndi is said to be very angry and upset over the photo leak. The pair had dated for four years before ending things this February. You might remember Cyndi as the alleged third party who came between model-actress Sonia Sui and Yuanhao back in 2012.

Three days after the photo leak, Yao finally took to his Facebook to apologise to Cyndi. In the post, he claimed that the pic “wasn’t taken secretly”. “I’m as angry as Cyndi about the photo leak… Cyndi, I’m very, very sorry. I’ll shoulder all the crisis and blame.” Unfortunately, his apology was ridiculed by netizens who called him "shameless", "hypocritical" and that he's "trying to act heroic".

Thereafter, Cyndi's management released a statement claiming that the pic was taken without Cyndi's knowledge and that they’ll be taking legal action against Yuanhao. They also said that when the pic was taken, Cyndi was awoken by the sound of the camera shutter, and had requested for Yuanhao to delete the pic. “Mr. Yao claimed that he didn’t take the pic without permission, and even alleged that ‘Cyndi and him are clear about that’… dragging Cyndi down to bear the responsibility with him,” it added.

The statement went on to say that Yuanhao was “shirking his responsibility” and had not given a proper explanation as to how the photo was leaked. It also slammed Yuanhao and his management for not apologising immediately. The statement ended with this loaded question: "The thing we would like to know the most is: Mr. Yao, how are you going to bear the responsibility?"

Back to square Wang: Cyndi and Yuanhao during happier times.

Some media reports claim that the bedroom photo was leaked over a year ago, and could have possibly been the reason behind the couple’s spilt, though a close pal of Cyndi has pooh-poohed the reports.

Meanwhile, conspiracy theories abound. One theory suggests that someone is out to get Cyndi. One netizen said that the pic was leaked by an unknown person whose account began with the letter “y” and that it has been making its rounds on Instagram since last December. He claimed that, every few days, that person would share the same photo, with the same content and hashtag, seemingly bent on tarnishing Cyndi's rep.

There are also people who believe that the photo leak is a publicity stunt. Netizens said that Cyndi’s face can't be seen in the pic, and if she hadn't admitted to being the subject of the photo, no one would have known it’s her. Moreover, ticket sales for Cyndi’s first world tour has been dismal. According to online reports, her ticket prices for her recent concert went from RMB$1080 (S$220) to just RMB$10 (S$2), and the organiser had to resort to selling light sticks and giving away free tickets to fill seats. Come to think of it, when was the last time you read about Cyndi Wang in the news?

This isn’t the first time Cyndi has found pictures of her in private get thrust into the spotlight. In 2010, four years after her spilt from Fan Zhiwei, he suddenly posted a pic of him hugging a bare-faced Cyndi. He later revealed in an interview that he was disappointed to find out that Cyndi wasn’t a virgin at 17, thereby shattering the pop princess’ virginal image. Upon learning the news, Cyndi reportedly broke down in tears. Outraged netizens slammed Zhiwei for having no morals and riding on Cyndi’s coattails.

To make matters worse, Taiwanese actor Edward Ou (remember him as Qing He in Meteor Garden?) followed suit by revealing that he's Cyndi’s first love. But he denied popping her cherry. He said the furthest they ever went was second base. But he did let on that he would have scored a home run once had Cyndi not have her period that day. Um, TMI much?