Kris Wu: K-Pop star arrested on suspicion of rape
Chinese-Canadian pop star Kris Wu has been arrested on suspicion of rape.
Officers in Beijing said the investigation centred on online
allegations that the star, 30, had "deceived young women multiple times
into having sexual relations".
The first accusation came early this month when a woman said
he had assaulted her while she was drunk.
Mr Wu, one of China's biggest celebrities, has denied all
the allegations of assault.
The first to accuse him was 19-year-old student Du Meizhu,
who posted on social media that she had met Mr Wu when she was 17.
She said she had been invited to a party at his home, where
she was pressured to drink alcohol and woke up in his bed the next day.
Ms Du said seven other women had told her Mr Wu had seduced
them with promises of jobs and other opportunities. She said some were minors.
At least 24 more women have since come forward alleging
inappropriate behaviour.
Mr Wu has denied plying Ms Du with alcohol, and also
rejected other allegations that he had enticed girls to have sex in return for
benefits, raped girls while they were unconscious, and had sex with minors.
Under Chinese law, under-18s are considered minors, while the age of sexual
consent is 14.
"There was no 'groupie sex'! There was no 'underage'!'
he wrote on his social media account after the allegations were made.
"If there were this kind of thing, please everyone
relax, I would put myself in jail!"
His lawyers are suing Ms Du for defamation.
The incident comes as awareness of gender-based violence in
China has grown, sparked by the #MeToo movement in 2018, where women voiced
their experiences of sexual harassment, sometimes involving high-profile
figures.
Mr Wu first shot to fame as a member of the K-pop boyband
EXO. He left in 2014 to launch a successful solo career as a singer, actor,
model and talent show judge.
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