It hasn’t been long since R1SE members Ren Hao and Xia Zhiguang’s were put on the spot due to their dating rumors and another issue has risen, this time involving the group’s leader Zhou Zhennan who found himself trending because of his parents.
A blogger claims that Zhou Zhennan’s parents Zhou Yong and Yang Houchao have been included in the list of dishonest debtors since 2016, that their real estate company has been sued countless times due to poor management and that they owe hundreds millions of yuan in debt which has resulted in a large number of victims losing their hard-earned money. Although Zhou Zhennan is not his parents, the Chinese idol has also been affected by the online vitriol. Fingers wer pointed at Zhou Zhennan with the topic of him having gone to private school and wearing expensive watches discussed online.
Statement from Zhou Zhennan’s Father’s Company
On the same day, Zhou Zhennan’s father’s company (四川省简阳市大地生态发展有限公司) released an exclusive statement through Sina Entertainment to indicate that commercial disputes have risen after company funds were withdrawn due to the market environment, but they have been actively coordinating with all parties. The statement further says, “The company has the capability and firmly believes that the related issues will soon be settled fairy and justly within the scope of the law.”
Furthermore, they reserve the right to pursue legal action towards netizens that have linked the company to the management’s family and maliciously speculated, slandered, commented and harmed the reputation of individuals with no connection to company operations.
Statement from Wajijiwa Entertainment
The group’s management Wajijiwa Entertainment also released a statement calling out the user accounts that have maliciously speculated about R1SE’s Zhou Zhennan’s involvement in the commercial disputes. They ask netizens and media platforms to remove and stop spreading inaccurate information and that they reserve the right to pursue legal action.
Statement from Original Poster
Later on, the person who first posted the news explains that he does not regret the exposé because he really had nowhere else to go. Over the years, he tried various ways to protect his rights and seeing so many people standing together, he is thankful for the support and hopeful that everyone can take back what is theirs. He also admitted that he had no choice but to delete his account for his family’s safety. He believes that Zhou Zhennan fans will think that the decision to delete the account is because he is guilty but he says, “Sorry, I am just trying to protect my family and friends that they won’t be harmed by lao lai 老赖 (a term for people who refuse to pay their debt even though they can afford to), if I were alone, I would definitely not be afraid.”
