Taiwanese Celeb Makiyo Claims Rainie Yang Pretended Not To Know Her After Becoming Popular, Rainie Denies Allegations

Do people really change when fame gets to their heads? 

In a recent podcast hosted by Taiwanese influencer Qiang Qiang, Japanese-Taiwanese celeb Makiyo Kawashima looked back on her friendship with a certain female singer many years ago.

Makiyo, 40, shared that they were very close, and the singer would go to her house for meals and drinks almost every day. 

But things changed when Makiyo's friend got her first taste of fame. 

Makiyo claimed her mum, who has since passed away, had bumped into the friend at a charity event, but was shocked when the latter pretended to not know her. 

Her mum was so angry, she even scolded the singer on the spot. "Aiyo! You don't know me anymore?" Makiyo's mum apparently said.

"Whenever you guys went out to play in the past, the expenses were paid for by Makiyo. Now you don't remember anymore?," she added.

The singer was very embarrassed by the outburst. 

Makiyo, however, did not reveal if this incident happened before or after her own infamous taxi scandal in 2012, when she was charged for assaulting a taxi driver when drunk. 

When Qiang Qiang tried to find out about the singer's identity, Makiyo said: "Everyone knows her. We debuted at the same time. She acts and sings, and once received an immense amount of backlash."

When Qiang Qiang blurted out Taiwanese singer-actress Rainie Yang's name on her third guess, Makiyo nodded. 

Makiyo and Rainie both joined showbiz in 2000. They also hosted on Jacky Wu's Guess Guess Guess at the start of their careers.

Rainie, however, quickly rose to fame thanks to her roles in Taiwanese idol dramas Meteor Garden (2001) and Devil Beside You (2005). Her singing career also explored thanks to her 2005 hit song 'My Intuition'.

Makiyo's accusations were soon denied by Rainie through the latter's manager.

"Miss Makiyo's baseless criticisms and attacks are all fabricated and untrue. This is a malicious act of spreading rumours and we will not be responding hereon in," they said.

Rainie also addressed Makiyo personally, saying: "Hope my former pal can remain positive and I wish her all the best".