Fan Bingbing sheds tears over tax evasion scandal

Chinese actress Fan Bingbing (left) and celebrity couple Yang Zi and Eva Huang (right)

Last week (May 29), Chinese host Cui Yong Yuan posted pictures of Chinese actress Fan Bingbing’s acting contract on his Weibo account, and accused the actress of signing two separate acting contracts to evade high taxes.

Two days ago (June 4), when asked about the matter during a media interview, the 55-year-old host retracted his previous accusations, and claimed that he had never explicitly mentioned that the actress in his post was Bingbing.

Yong Yuan shared that after the scandal blew up, Bingbing called him to clarify the matter, and was unable to hold back her tears. “She told me I had wronged her, and that because of what I said, she is currently getting investigated,” he revealed. “She said she felt horrible about the incident, and cried really badly.”

The host then went on to spill the beans about “another celebrity couple”, sharing that it involved a contract that pays RMB750 million (approximately S$156.3 million).

When asked if he was accusing actors Yang Zi and Eva Huang this time round, the host shared that Yang Zi had already sent a representative to warn him against speaking out.

The actor denied the rumours in a statement over Weibo yesterday (June 5). “I have never sent someone to threaten ‘Cui Lao Shi’ (Yong Yuan), nor have I signed any contracts with the intention of carrying out illegal acts,” Yang Zi shared. “On top of that, I have also never discussed such large amounts of money with any parties before.”

According to media reports, Yong Yuan had already met tax officials to share what he knew, and investigations are currently underway.

Photo: PBE Media

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