Steph Deschamps / November 26, 2022
Chinese-Canadian singer and actor Kris Wu, a huge star in China, was sentenced to 13 years in prison, including for rape, according to a ruling on Friday, a case that had caused a scandal in the country.
The 32-year-old artist was sentenced to "11 years and six months of imprisonment for rape", according to the judgment of the Chaoyang District Court in Beijing, which added that he "was also sentenced to one year and 10 months of imprisonment for the crime of gathering people to commit adultery". At the end of his sentence, he will be deported from China, the ruling also said.
Chinese-Canadian, Kris Wu is an ex-member of the Chinese-South Korean group EXO. He had left the group in 2014 to embark on a solo career as an actor, singer and model. Last year, he was accused by a 19-year-old Chinese student of raping her during a date when she was 17.
Following the outcry, brands such as Louis Vuitton, Bulgari, L'Oreal and Porsche, of which he was an ambassador, suspended their partnership with the singer. Subsequently, other victims had testified online to accuse Mr. Wu's team of predatory behavior, including inviting them to drunken karaoke parties.
These accusations sparked the beginning of the #Metoo movement in China, but it has since stagnated. Fearing an uncontrolled mass movement, the censors controlling the internet had quickly blocked on social networks the hashtags and keywords relating to cases of sexual harassment.