Coco Lee was one of the coaches on 'Sing! China' in 2022. Photo: Sing! China/Weibo
Late pop diva Coco Lee was believed to have complained about being mistreated on a Chinese reality show after she voiced her unhappiness over the show’s system, which she felt was unfair.
This was disclosed in a nine-minute audio clip which went viral on Chinese social media in the last two days.
The Hong Kong-American singer, who died at age 48 on July 5, was one of the coaches of Chinese singing reality show Sing! China in 2022.
In the clip, Lee asked why a contestant with higher marks faced elimination, while another contestant with lower marks was given a second chance.
“I said there is a problem with this, and the country will see it even if I do not voice it out,” she said.
Referring to two trainees in her team, she said: “How can they let Feige and Zepeng leave when they are so popular, while the other six contestants with lower marks have a chance to continue in the show?”
Another video clip circulating on Weibo in September 2022 showed Lee asking the directors angrily why a contestant with 77 marks was given a second chance, while her contestant with 88.3 marks was not.
She clarified later in another post that her misunderstanding with the directors was resolved. However, she deleted all her Sing! China posts when it ended its run in October 2022.
In the latest video clip, she said she was told to leave the show by the director’s two aides, who threatened to call security after she spoke out. She added that one of the women grabbed her shirt and tried to pull her offstage.
“I love Sing! China, as I feel these young people love music and are full of hope,” Lee said in the clip. “It doesn’t matter if I sacrifice myself. I didn’t expect them to be a bunch of bad guys who are going to fix me because I told the truth.”
Lee, who went for a major surgery in February 2023 as she was born with a defect in her left leg, said in the clip that she asked for Zepeng to accompany her on stage during the last day of recording in October 2022.
“I asked for Zepeng to stand by my side as I couldn’t be on my feet for too long, and I didn’t want to be in crutches or in a wheelchair,” said the singer said in the clip, adding that the production team agreed to her request.
“Did you know what happened on the actual day of filming?” she said tearfully. “They took Zepeng away by cueing him to walk to the other side.”
Lee said she could not stand for long in her seven-inch heels and hinted that she collapsed on stage.
“Has anyone thought about my feelings? Humiliated on stage despite having been a singer for 28 years,” she said while crying. “This is called bullying. Does anyone care about my feelings? How can you let me suffer like this?”
She added in the clip that she joined the show, though she was suffering from breast cancer. This was recently confirmed by her husband, Canadian businessman Bruce Rockowitz, in his latest statement on Tuesday.
Lee said in the clip: “I went to Sing! China, though it may cost me my life. The doctors advised me not to, as my breast cancer was a ticking time bomb.”
She said she went on the show not for herself, but for the trainees, as she did not bother to check how much her contract was worth.
“These children are innocent, and they would have no ‘mother’ if I didn’t go,” she said. “I decided to go and help them. It’s not about the money. It’s for this show, for these children.”
Sing! China’s production team reacted to the clip in a Weibo post late on Thursday night. It claimed that the clip was edited with a malicious intent, and that it was disrespectful to the late singer and damaged the show’s reputation.
“The misunderstanding was resolved at that time and we will not issue more explanations out of respect for Ms Lee,” it said in the statement. – The Straits Times/Asia News Network
