Taiwanese celebrity couple Blackie Chen and Christine Fan have been caught up in Taiwan's #MeToo movement. Photo: Blackie Chen/Instagram
Taiwanese television host Blackie Chen’s wife, singer Christine Fan, is facing a boycott of her upcoming concert in September.
This comes as she continues to stand by her husband in the face of allegations of sexual harassment from singer Tina Chou, 38, and actress Yuan Kuo, 34, last week.
Chen, 46, and Fan, 47, have denied the accusations and filed a defamation lawsuit against Chou.
Fan also defended Chen in an Instagram post last Thursday (June 29), claiming that there was only one bed in their home, that Chen did not touch alcohol at all and that she only went out five times during her pregnancy.
All these details differed from Kuo’s account of her alleged encounter with Chen, which Kuo said happened when she was alone with Chen at their home during Fan’s pregnancy in 2015, after he had plied her with drink.
However, Internet sleuths were able to dig through Fan’s social media posts and refute Fan’s claims, which led to further backlash against the celebrity couple who married in 2011 and have eight-year-old twin sons.
Netizens have threatened to boycott her gig, Between Us, to be held at the Taipei Music Center on Sept 8.
Those who had already bought tickets are reportedly trying to get refunds or reselling them at a loss.
Some NT$1,280 (RM192) tickets are being offered for sale now online at NT$500 (RM75), but some netizens say they do not want the tickets even if they are given to them for free.
Her Instagram post from May 26 to promote the concert has been inundated with comments about boycotting her concert. Others wrote that those unable to get a refund should attend the concert to boo her.
The concert organisers said that 80 per cent of the tickets – from NT$1,280 to NT$4,280 (RM642) – had already been sold, with the cheapest seats sold out.
Taiwanese media outlets also noted that if she were to pull out from the concert now, she would have to pay compensation fees amounting to NT$1mil (RM150,055) – so it appears that the show must go on. – The Straits Times/Asia News Network
