Chinese actor Leo Wu Lei made a successful transition from child star to leading man through works like Love Like the Galaxy. He has largely maintained a scandal-free public image. However, controversy emerged when a woman using the handle “Bai Shanshan a” took to social media claiming she possessed alleged private “intimate photos in bed” of the 26-year-old actor.
Wu Lei and His Studio Swiftly Shut Down Rumors
She openly offered to sell the supposed images of a certain WL for 10,000 RMB, later complaining online that she had only managed to sell 20,000 RMB in total. She eventually named him saying, “Wu Lei, you owe me, what are you going to use to repay me?” Bai Shanshan further demanded that Wu Lei explain his whereabouts on the night of November 20 last year. However, fans swiftly countered the claim by sharing Wu Lei’s work schedule, where he was on set filming on that date.
Wu Lei’s studio responded forcefully and swiftly that same night, categorically labeling the rumors as having no factual basis. His studio stated that it had collected evidence to initiate legal proceedings. The next day, a secondary account under the handle “Bai Shanshan 83” tagged Wu Lei and questioned whether he had reported her account, which resulted in it being taken down.
On January 19, Wu Lei personally addressed the matter on social media, writing, “Don’t know this person, have entrusted a lawyer to pursue legal action.” His studio reposted the statement just two minutes later, emphasizing that the two parties are complete strangers with no prior contact. Their legal representatives have since been formally appointed to file lawsuits against Bai Shanshan on grounds of defamation.
Bai Shanshan’s actions have drawn skepticism, with some netizens suggesting that she’s trying to copy Si Xiaodi, as there seems to be a rise in women claiming to to have relations with actors. However, Bai Shanshan hasn’t provided any tangible evidence beyond verbal claims. She was also accused of potential fraud over the 10K RMB images. Following the removal of her account, chat records circulated online in which she claimed her account had been hacked.
UPDATE:
On January 20, a Weibo user with the handle -833-, understood to be Bai Shanshan’s, made a public apology to Wu Lei. She wrote, “I am truly sorry, Teacher Wu Lei. Things have turned out this way, causing such serious consequences. Initially, I was just joking around with someone who shares the same name online. Because my account was banned, I tagged you to try and get more traffic. I’m willing to post an apology to you on all social media platforms. I know this can’t make up for anything, but I am truly, truly, truly sorry. I will be more careful with my words and actions for the rest of my life. This is my sincerest apology.”
Source: 1
Arduinna
Is anyone else also getting the impression that these aren’t just random cases of women going crazy online, but orchestrated attacks on any male actor who seems to be having “too much success”?
It’s a small step from “buying water” to actively trying to damage the competition…
iamnoone
“what is this concept of buying water?”
Du
It is poorly phrased in text. A reverse marketing service where someone pays for smear campaign, so bots and live commentators flood the internet with desired negative content, flood it like the water is called ‘water army’. Concept is called buying a ‘water army’, meaning paying for organised smear campaign. Colloquially could be said also ‘buying a water’ in China. A lot of agencies use this ‘reverse’ marketing service to attack prospective competitors of their actors/singers etc. This is different than negative marketing, when agency deliberately releases some negative information, like outdoor smoking or other minor discretion to increase internet engagement and visibility for their artists knowing that many will defend the star and there will be no actual negative impact, just negative news used to drive marketing. Water armies are devastating concept and core concept of cancel culture. Often water armies use untrue, false, misinterpreted, taken out of context information sets aimed to produce true negative impact. It is used in the west as well. For example, TAG PR company is famous for their reverse marketing services and is currently being sued by multiple celebrities.