Social media users speculate Chinese celebrity Cai Xukun digitally removed from variety show following sex scandal allegation
KUALA LUMPUR, July 18 — Chinese pop star and fashion icon Cai Xukun found himself digitally removed from a recently-aired variety show Keep Running following a sex scandal.
Sharp eyed social media users noticed that some of the cast members of the show were either speaking or gesturing but there is no one present during the recent airing of the show, Asia One reported.
Cai, 24, was said to have been removed following accusations that he had pressured a woman to have an abortion.
There has been no comment from the show’s producer.
The move is in response to Beijing cracking down on entertainers deemed to be tainted by scandals.
In September 2021, members of the Chinese Association of Performing Arts (Capa) pledged to tackle irrational posts online and issues of tainted entertainers.
They also promised not to work with scandal-hit entertainers — such as Zheng Shuang who has been fined for tax evasion, and pop star Kris Wu who was arrested for rape — and will instead focus on artistes with good morals.
Actress Vicki Zhao had her name removed from video streaming sites as Beijing stepped up its campaign against celebrity culture.
Her name was also removed from the credits of major TV series, and a forum dedicated to the actress on social media platform Weibo was also shut down.
Zhao and her husband Huang You Long were banned from trading on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in 2021, following a failed 2016 takeover bid of a company which authorities ruled had “disrupted market order”.
