In 2021, after
rape allegations emerged on Chinese social media,[9][10] Wu was investigated by the Chinese authorities. He was subsequently sentenced to 13 years of imprisonment for forcing three intoxicated women to have sex with him on November 25, 2022, by the Chinese courts,[11] and was separately fined CN¥600 million (US$84 million) for tax evasion. In November 2023, he lost an appeal of the rape trial.[12]
Early life
Li Jiaheng (
Chinese: 李嘉恒;
pinyin: Lǐ Jiāhéng) was born on November 6, 1990, in
Guangzhou,
Guangdong,[13] to Stacey Yu Wu (born Wu Xiuqin;
Chinese: 吴秀芹;
pinyin: Wú Xiùqín)[14] and Li Kaiming (
Chinese: 李开明;
pinyin: Lǐ Kāimíng). His parents divorced when he was a toddler and he was raised solely by his mother.[15]
At the age of 18, Wu auditioned for
SM Entertainment's Canadian global auditions, which were held in Vancouver; after passing the auditions, he became a trainee for the company and was offered a role in
Exo in 2012.[13]
On February 17, 2012, Wu was introduced as the eleventh member of
Exo.[18] In April 2012, Exo made their debut and quickly became one of the most popular K-pop groups in South Korea and internationally, achieving commercial success with their studio album XOXO and their hit song "
Growl" in 2013. The album became the first album by a Korea-based artist in twelve years to sell over one million copies, and is the 12th best selling album of all time in Korea.[19] Before leaving the group, Wu was featured on Exo's Overdose album, which was released in May 2014 and became the best selling album of 2014 in South Korea.[citation needed]
2014–2016: Solo debut and other activities
Wu released "Time Boils the Rain" as part of the soundtrack for the Chinese box office hit Tiny Times 3 in July 2014.[20] In the following year, he became the youngest celebrity to have a wax figure at
Madame Tussauds Shanghai and was named "Newcomer of the Year" by
Esquire China.[21][22]
Wu made his film debut in Somewhere Only We Know, directed by
Xu Jinglei.[23] The film was released on February 14, 2015, and debuted first place on the Chinese box office, grossing US$37.81 million in six days following its release.[24] He won the "Best Newcomer Award" at the 3rd China International Film Festival London for his performance.[25]
In February 2017, Wu represented China at the
59th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles.[41] The same month, Wu accepted his second invitation to play in the
2017 NBA All-Star Game in
New Orleans.[42]Forbes listed Wu their
30 Under 30 Asia 2017 list which comprises 30 influential people under 30 years old who have made substantial effect in their fields.[43]
In October 2017, Wu released "
Deserve", featuring American rapper
Travis Scott. Upon its release, "Deserve" placed No. 1 on the U.S. iTunes chart, making Wu the only Chinese artist to achieve the feat.[45] At the end of 2017, Wu released a single, "B.M.". Kris released another single, "Miss You" featuring
Zhao Liying on Christmas Day 2017. The music video was released on December 28.[46]
As of April 2018, future music from Wu will be released internationally, excluding Japan and Korea, through a partnership of Universal Music China,
Interscope in the United States and Island Records in the United Kingdom[48] Wu's debut album Antares featuring the 2018 singles "
Like That" and "Freedom" (featuring
Jhené Aiko) was released on November 2, 2018.[49]
On April 19, 2019, Wu released a single, "Big Bowl, Thick Noodle", the music video for which was viewed over 90 million times on streaming site
Miaopai.[50] Wu then embarked on his Alive Tour, performing at cities across China.[51] On November 6, 2019, his 29th birthday, Wu released a second single, "Eternal Love", along with an accompanying micro film starring himself and Japanese model
Kōki.[52]
On April 22, 2020, Wu released the four-track EP Testing, preceded by the single "Aurora" on April 15. The EP was pre-ordered one million times just 87 minutes after being made available on Tencent streaming platform QQ Music, marking a new record for the platform. The EP features three Chinese songs and one in English.[53][54]
In 2016, a woman who claimed to be Wu's ex-girlfriend accused Wu of having an affair with others.[56]
In August 2019, during the
2019–20 Hong Kong protests, Wu shared photos of the Chinese flag accompanied by the hashtags "the Chinese national flag has 1.4 billion flag bearers" and "I am a flag bearer" on his official
Weibo account.[57]
Endorsements and ambassadorship
In 2015, Wu became the
youth ambassador for the 3rd Silk Road International Film Festival in Xian.[58]
In 2016, he became the first endorser for Mixxtail.[59]Mercedes-Benz chose Wu as their brand ambassador in China for their
Smart division[60] and introduced the limited edition "Kris Wu Edition" smart.[61] Wu has also been made the global ambassador for I.T Cashback Card under
American Express Hong Kong. The brand made him chief design advisor and the face of their latest in-house brand, Under Garden. He designed the lookbook for the latest collection.[62]Burberry chose Wu as their global ambassador in 2016, making him the first non-British as well as the first Asian person to be the face of the brand.[63] It was reported that Burberry experienced a growth in sales and awareness with Chinese shoppers thanks to Kris' campaign.[64]
In 2021, over a dozen brands, including Bulgari,
Lancôme,
Louis Vuitton and
Porsche, immediately ended ties with him after his detainment for rape allegations.[67]
Philanthropy
In June 2014, Wu joined Heart Ali, a project started by
Fan Bingbing and Chen Lizhi (the general manager of Beijing Maite Media). The charity project is aimed at helping children suffering from
congenital heart defects in
Ngari Prefecture in Tibet.[68]
On January 21, 2016, he launched his own charity project called Extraordinary Honorary Court (不凡荣誉球场), a collaboration project with
Sina,
Weibo Sports, and
Weibo Charity. The goal is to spread
basketball in middle schools in China to encourage all basketball-loving youth to continue their dreams of pursuing this sport.[69] Wu was also announced as the ambassador for China's Jr. NBA program and is part of the program's mentor group.[70][71]
Legal issues and controversies
SM Entertainment lawsuit
On May 15, 2014, Wu filed a lawsuit against the agency to terminate his contract.[72]SM Entertainment claimed to be completely taken aback despite having dealt with several disputes regarding their contracts in the past.[73]
On July 30, 2015, SM Entertainment filed a lawsuit against Wu and the Chinese companies working with him at the Beijing court, stating that "these activities have infringed the rights of the EXO members and SM, and have caused great financial harm to us and our partners. This is not only an abuse of the system, but also an unethical move that has betrayed the trust of this company and the other members."[74] The following day, Wu released a statement defending himself stating that SM Entertainment had made him leave the group for several months and that SM Entertainment's way of mistreating and neglecting their artists resulted in serious health issues: he had to take medication to be able to work from July 2013 to January 2014, when he was diagnosed with
myocarditis.[75] A settlement was reached that he will be under their management in only Korea and Japan.[76]
On July 8, 2021, Du Meizhu, a 19-year-old Chinese college student, posted allegations online accusing Wu of a pattern of sexual assault involving multiple women and girls, some underage, while they were unconscious and under the influence of alcohol. Through the Chinese social media platform
Weibo, Du stated she was raped while intoxicated on December 5, 2020, at age 18, and that she was speaking for at least seven other victims, two of whom were minors at the time of the crime.[77]
The allegations were denied by Wu,[78] and were then investigated by the Beijing Public Security Bureau and other authorities. Multiple companies, including Porsche,
Bulgari, and
Lancôme, ended ties with Wu and either dropped him as a brand ambassador or suspended existing endorsement deals.[79][80][81]
Wu was detained by police in Beijing on July 31, 2021, and formally arrested on August 16, 2021, on suspicion of rape.[82][83] On November 25, 2022, Chaoyang District People's Court in Beijing sentenced Wu to a total of 13 years in prison on two separate charges. The first was having sex with 3 women while they were drunk and he was sentenced to 11 years 6 months imprisonment. The second charge was assembling a crowd to engage in promiscuous activities and the sentence was 1 year 10 months. He will be deported from China after serving his sentence for rape and group lewdness.[84][7] Wu was also fined an additional ¥600 million yuan (US$84 million) for tax evasion.[85][86][87][88]
On July 25, 2023, the appeal trial was held at the Third Intermediate People's Court of Beijing. The trial was held in private.[89] The appeal was rejected on November 24, 2023, with the court finding that the evidence presented in the original trial was reliable and sufficient and that the application of law and his conviction were correct and legal. Therefore the original judgement was upheld.[90][12]
^Gong, Mina (November 25, 2022).
"엑소 출신 크리스, 中서 성폭력 혐의로 '징역 13년+강제 추방'" [EXO former Chris, '13 years in prison + forced deportation' for sexual assault charges in China]. Spotify News (in Korean). Retrieved November 25, 2022.
^"吴亦凡涉强奸聚众淫乱案二审开庭 | 联合早报" [The second trial of Kris Wu's rape case is being held]. www.zaobao.com.sg (in Simplified Chinese). July 25, 2023. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
^"吴亦凡强奸、聚众淫乱案 二审结果出炉!". 8world Entertainment Lifestyle (in Chinese (Singapore)). November 24, 2023. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
In 2010, the list started to include Chinese celebrities born in
Hong Kong,
Taiwan, and other countries. Prior to that it only included celebrities born in
mainland China.