Taiwanese host Dee Hsu has dismissed the rumour suggesting Chinese businessman Wang Xiaofei was involved in the funeral arrangements for her older sister, actress Barbie Hsu.
Speculation circulated on Weibo after a netizen claimed Wang had forked out some 400,000 Chinese yuan (RM243,309) to charter a private jet to transport his ex-wife’s ashes from Japan back to Taiwan.
Several reports suggested that Wang insisted on ensuring her remains were “treated with dignity and not as mere cargo”, according to Dimsum Daily.
The narrative was further fuelled when Wang’s mother, restaurant entrepreneur Zhang Lan, reportedly liked a post implying that Wang had paid for the jet.
In a statement via her manager, Dee, 46, said all funeral arrangements were handled by the Hsu family and her businessman husband Mike.
Voicing her anger over the baseless claim, she added: “I don’t understand why there’s this lie about Wang Xiaofei chartering the jet. Heaven is watching what you’re doing, especially my sister since she’s up there looking down.”
Barbie Hsu, who was 48, died in Japan on Feb 2 due to complications from influenza.
Her remains were transported back to Taiwan on Feb 5 following cremation in Japan.
Wang and Hsu, who married in 2010, share a 10-year-old daughter and an eight-year-old son.
Their 2021 divorce has been marked by public disputes, with both sides accusing each other of infidelity.
Hsu went on to marry South Korean musician DJ Koo, whom she had dated from 1998 to 1999, in February 2022.
Meanwhile, Wang tied the knot with influencer Mandy Ma in May 2024.
