Eric Tsang Is Totally Cool With The Number Of Stars Leaving TVB & The Many Scandals Surrounding Him. Here’s Why

There's really no way one can walk into a room with Eric Tsang in it and not notice his presence. 

The 69-year-old veteran actor, who's also TVB's General Manager, was in Singapore last week (Dec 8) to attend the Academy Creative Awards 2022 with TVB stars Kenneth Ma and Elaine Yiu.

When 8days.sg arrived at co-working space JustCo at the Centrepoint last Friday (Dec 9) to meet the group, we immediately heard Eric's inimitable hoarse voice and hearty laughter the moment we stepped into the room.

And there was just something so inherently jolly about him. And no, we're not saying that because he was wearing a baggy black outfit that made him look so much like Big Potato from in Hong Kong comic Old Master Q.

What we meant is how he perpetually has a smile on his face.

Even when we asked about the recent viral video of him allegedly kissing 26-year-old Malaysian model Lai Bala on the lips, Eric simply took the question in stride, his smile never leaving his mug, as if we were asking him about what his Christmas plans are.

His favourite words to describe those nasty scandals about him? "Not really bothered".

Guess when you've been in showbiz for 50 years like Eric, nothing fazes you anymore.

8DAYS: Now that you're TVB's general manager, is it more stressful than being an actor or host? 

ERIC TSANG: Of course it's very stressful, they're such different things. As an actor I just had to do whatever the director tells me to do, but now I have to participate in so much administrative work. Plus I have to wake up on time for work, that is the most stressful thing for me 'cos I'm so not used to it. (laughs)

When we're filming we follow the shoot schedules and have breaks once we’re done filming. Our schedules were also always different from others. For example, during Christmas, you guys will be on holiday but we'll have to work 'cos we have to perform for you guys. But when you're working we'll be on a holiday.

But now I go to work like a regular person. I go for meetings at 9am in the morning, and end work at 6pm, but I still have to work over time, to discuss about variety shows and other things. It's so tiring, but I'm still happy as long as I see the results (laughs).

TVB's ratings are said to be falling, is that something you're worried about?

People think that ratings have fallen, but it's just because young people are not used to watching content on the television. Instead they like to watch things on their phones, which means you can't "find" the ratings. But actually the number of people watching is still the same. 

And TVB is already the best. We take up 83 per cent of the audience in Hong Kong, so we're already the biggest platform (laughs). 

What about the increasing number of stars leaving TVB, how do you feel about that?

TVB has groomed many people. Now we see many superstars and movie stars out there, actually they all came from TVB. Superstars Stephen Chow, Andy Lau, Chow Yun Fat were from our artiste training classes, singers like Aaron Kwok and Leon Lai were our TVB dancers or came from our New Talent Singing Contest. Many A-list female celebs also came from our Miss Hong Kong pageant.

Since we've groomed so many people, once they mature over the years, they'll gradually move towards the movie industry, or other forms of media. That's bound to happen. So you say many people are leaving us, it's natural. We'll just continue grooming new people (laughs).

You're in the news a lot and a lot of times, it's for not very flattering reasons. Are you someone who reads negative comments about yourself?

For our industry, our ability to handle negative news is very strong because firstly, we know what they're reporting isn't true. Especially for this generation, the amount of fake news is crazy (laughs).

So the older generation always told us, don't go and read. If you take every comment to heart, you'll live your life very miserably. 

To me, the only people I care about are my family. It only matters to me how my family views the news. But my family and I have this 'understanding'. Before the news gets out, if I didn't call to tell them about it, [they'll know] the piece of news is fake and they don't have to care.

But if some things are true, then I would call to explain why there is such news. That's become our habit already, so I'm not really bothered about [these negative reports]. (Laughs)

Reports accusing you of kissing Malaysian model Lai Bala on the lips went viral in October. What are your thoughts on that?

The news is like that, they'll just pull out one frame from an entire video. Actually I was kissing her cheek, but they picked the frame that looked like I was kissing her lips, and that's how the news came about. So you think it's real just like that? It isn't, that's why I say don't bother about it. 

To me, I was just being polite. It's a birthday kiss, is that news? But I'll always tell myself, people only write about me 'cos I'm a public figure. If you're just an ordinary person, why would they write about you? (Laughs) It's why there's a saying in Cantonese, "If you want to eat the salted fish, you deserve to feel thirsty," which means, "You're an artiste so people will talk about you". It's okay, I'm very chill about it. 

How would you describe your relationship with the media then?

I remember back in the '90s, the reporters had polls where they chose their favourite celebs to work with. Back then, Anita Mui and I were often the champions. (Laughs)

I know too well what the relationship between us and the media is like. We need them to help us promote [our work] and they need us for news. It's natural for us to help one another, so I totally understand [when they need to make news out of me].