Kris Wu: LA teen alleges she was drugged and raped at K-pop star's party in 2019
Trigger warning: Graphic content
Chinese-Canadian actor and rapper Kris Wu aka Wu Yi Fan, a former member of the K-Pop group EXO more recently known for his sexual assault scandal keeps getting himself into more and more drama as the legal proceedings in lieu of his past actions advance. Wu is currently mired in a scandal where one of his alleged exes and a social media influencer, Du Meizhu accused him of seeking out and grooming underage girls, predatory behavior, rape, threats, and harming girls.
The entire fiasco went down when Meizhu took to Weibo to expose him on account of cheating. The current whereabouts of Wu are unknown but reports suggest that he was detained on suspicion of rape on July 31 further souring his public image. Previous developments stated that his own social media handle as well as hundreds of other handles that run in support of him were deleted from Weibo. Weibo is also reported to have shut down many support groups in favor of Wu.
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What did Kris Wu's LA victim say?
With every new development, the case keeps garnering substantial attention globally making it a hot topic. More than 24 women in China have since come forward with similar stories of being plied with alcohol and then pressured to have sex with, or were sexually assaulted by, the 30-year-old. As of August 9, it was reported that one more victim has revealed herself and has come out to speak up about the scandal. This victim is not based in China but from Los Angeles. So far, all the allegations Wu was involved in were from inside China where his victims were said to have been underage. Now another teenager from Los Angeles, USA has allegedly come forward as a victim of Kris Wu.
The victim relayed her side of the story in which she said that she attended one of Wu's infamous parties when she was underage. It is alleged that Kris Wu is a predator who preys on underage or minor girls, mainly 18 or 19-year-olds. The LA victim said that she saw this behavior first-hand when she was invited to one of his parties in 2019. The event was supposedly very furtive where the entrants were supposed to turn in their phones to prevent photos and videos being recorded. This victim has spoken to her lawyer Jing Wang from Kingwood Law, California. While disclosing the incidents of the scandal the LA victim said that the atmosphere was awkward at the party where attendees possessed drugs or viagra.
What happened at Kris Wu's party?
She reported that she had too much to drink and fell unconscious. She was unaware of having sexual relations with Kris and only found out about them afterward. The LA victim also alleged that the reason why she kept shush about the whole incident was because she knew Kris was a big celebrity and she feared being attacked by his fans and the public.
Watching Du Meizhu break her silence was empowering to her but despite that she also saw the hate Du received online where Du received hate comments and was slut-shamed as well as blackmailed online. The victim also said that she was unconscious and so couldn’t report the incident and did not have much proof to defend herself which added to her hesitation.
Lawyer promises support to other victims
Jing Wang, the LA victims lawyer who holds a Doctor of Law from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, has previously been an internal legal consultant for a US-based multinational company. She has also held a position within the Chinese court system. Talking about the current victims' case she says that she could relate to the fact how women held a disadvantage in matters pertaining to sexual assault cases where it becomes even more difficult to stand up against assaulters who are public figures. These victims are tested both by the court as well as by the supporters of these public figures.
She went on to add that victims being blamed for their personality and way of dressing or social actions in such situations are pointless as they have nothing to do with the actions of the assaulter. These conditions should not undermine the trauma that these victims are going through. She said that she and her team are evaluating the LA victim's story and once the truth is determined in this narrative, they will represent her in bringing a case against Kris. She says she is willing to represent other victims, if there may be, in order to encourage more women to stand up for themselves as there is a possibility of there being more victims given the fact that Wu visited Los Angeles many times in the past.
Potential punishment for Wu
Talking about the potential punishment Wu will face given all these charges are successfully proved in the Chinese as well as American courts, Wang points out that the laws are different in both regions and there are multiple points to consider. Given into consideration that the victim is under the age of 18 years, the assailant is said to have committed rape under the American Law and could face up to 11 years in prison for each count and in case the victim is 18 or above, the assailant will have to face 8 years in prison for each count.
Hong Kong media reported that Kris Wu’s mother – Stacey Wu looked for lawyers everywhere, but no one willingly accepted his case. In the end, Ms. Stacey Wu was exhausted from the physical and emotional shocks and had to be hospitalized. It is also reported that Wu's long-lost father who was separated from his mother when Wu was only ten years old and who had been MIA his entire life has rushed from Guangzhou to Beijing to take care of the case. While other reports claim that Wu is rumored to be mentally unstable now and was said to have died by suicide. There is no clarification about any of these stories till now.