Wong Kar Wai’s Blossoms Shanghai Responds to Scandal Over Writer’s Allegations

The controversy surrounding Blossoms Shanghai has quickly grown from a personal dispute, where a writer has accused renowned director Wong Kar Wai and screenwriter Qin Wen of exploiting his work, into a major scandal in China’s entertainment industry. On November 8, the production team issued an official statement denying the allegations made by Cheng Junnian, known professionally as Gu Er, who also leaked a series of voice recordings claiming to reveal misconduct behind the scenes. The leaks have cast a shadow over the critically-acclaimed drama and sparked a wave of speculation.

Blossoms Shanghai Denies Allegations

According to the official statement from Blossoms Shanghai, the recordings were obtained without consent, illegally edited, and filled with false interpretations. The team accused Gu Er of spreading misinformation out of dissatisfaction with his credit as “pre-production editor,” asserting that he was only a member of the early research group and left the project in 2020.

This contradicted claims by Gu Er who maintains that he developed key storylines that appeared on the show, that his proposals were directly reviewed and approved by Wong Kar-wai himself and that he submitted drafts of the script where Qin Wen had added minor revisions and taken credit. He included chat screenshots, documents and recordings to support his claims, including the alleged use of uncredited ghostwriters and poor treatment of staff. Blossoms Shanghai countered that he never served as a screenwriter, a title Gu Er believed was unfairly taken from him, and urged him to return to China to resolve the dispute legally.

However, online discussion has focused on what the statement did not address. It stopped short of directly denying the authenticity of the alleged remarks in the recordings, which drew even more attention due to Wong Kar Wai and Qin Wen purportedly gossiping about several figures in the entertainment industry, comments that allegedly disparage actors such as Blossoms Shanghai stars Tang Yan, 92-year-old You Benchang, and even veteran actor Chen Daoming.

Gu Er’s Chinese social media account has since been banned. Qin Wen has denied the allegations while Wong Kar Wai, known for his peculiar and stringent style of directing that has created acclaimed films like In the Mood for Love, Chungking Express and Happy Together, has not responded to the issue. As public scrutiny intensifies, the show’s creative team has suffered significant damage.