Taiwanese singer Jay Chou and Chinese actor Huang Xiaoming have reacted to speculation linking them to claims that an unidentified male superstar had racked up gambling debts at a casino in Macau.
Rumours began circulating on Chinese social media on March 10 that a certain “super A-lister” recently gambled for seven straight days there and lost about 1.03 billion yuan (RM630.4mil).
The rumours also alleged that he had to mortgage three luxury homes and a private jet to pay off the debts.
Netizens began speculating who the artiste was as he was not named in the posts. Beside Chou and Huang, Chinese actors Wu Jing and Wang Baoqiang, as well as Chinese singer Wang Feng, were also brought up.
Chou’s label JVR Music took to Weibo on March 11 to set the record straight.
“The company hereby declares that all the contents of the rumours have nothing to do with Jay Chou,” JVR wrote in Chinese. “Please refrain from spreading false rumours.”
On the same day, Chou posted on Instagram Stories photos of himself recording music and chilling with his friends, Taiwanese musicians Alan Kuo and Gary Yang, in Australia.
The singer, who also appeared as a special guest during Taiwanese rock band Mayday’s concert in Sydney on Feb 22, captioned the photos: “Work hard, play hard.”
Taiwanese artiste and fitness live streamer Will Liu also backed Chou, his good friend, on Weibo on March 11.
“Don’t waste the public’s resources and use the energy on something meaningful,” Liu, 52, wrote. ”Stop listening to online rumours and let’s exercise tonight.”
Meanwhile, Huang posted on Weibo on March 12 several photos of the sunset, writing in Chinese: “I was taking photos when I looked up. Wow! The sunset is so beautiful.”
The 47-year-old’s IP location on Weibo states that he is currently in China’s Fujian province, where he has been filming a TV series with Chinese actress Zhao Liying since February.
Huang was also asked by a netizen in the comment section if he had lost more than one billion yuan recently. “Is it Happy Beans?”, the actor replied, referring to a virtual currency used in an online game. – The Straits Times/Asia News Network
