Chinese reality show Sing! China has been suspended after claims of mistreatment believed to be made by late pop diva Coco Lee surfaced on social media.
The announcement was made by broadcaster Zhejiang Media Group in a Weibo post on Friday (Aug 25).
"Due to the ongoing investigations into the issues raised by viewers and netizens regarding Sing! China, the programme has been temporarily suspended," it said.
The suspension of the show quickly became a top trending topic on Weibo, garnering 100 million views in less than an hour, CNN reported.
It added that many have welcomed the move, calling for a thorough investigation whereas others have called for the permanent cancellation of the show.
Sing! China found itself in the centre of controversy last week after a leaked audio clip purportedly of Lee claiming she was "humiliated" and "bullied" on the show went viral on social media.
The Hong Kong-American singer, who died at 48 on July 5, was one of the coaches on the show last year.
In the nine-minute recording, Lee could be heard asking why a contestant with higher marks was eliminated while another contestant with lower marks was given a second chance.
After voicing her unhappiness over the show's system, Lee claimed that she was threatened by the crew to have security guards remove her from stage.
She also added that a woman grabbed her shirt and tried to pull her offstage.
In the audio clip, Lee – who went for surgery early February to treat a defect in her left leg – said that the production team initially agreed to her request for her mentee, Wang Zepeng, to accompany her on stage during the last day of filming in October 2022 as she couldn't stand on her feet for too long.
However, the crew reportedly cued Wang to walk away from Lee during the actual filming of the show, causing the pop diva to collapse on stage.
Sing! China's production team released a statement on Aug 17 saying that the viral audio clip was edited with malicious intent, and that it disrespected the late singer and damaged the show's reputation.
On Aug 20, Zhejiang Media Group acknowledged that the show may have fallen short of viewers' expectations and said it would investigate the issues raised.
However, the statement has done little to ease public outrage, with many netizens and celebrities still calling for a boycott of Sing! China.
Meanwhile, shares for the show's producer, Star CM Holdings Ltd., have tumbled by 14% in Hong Kong on Friday, Bloomberg reported.
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