A blogger named Xu Feng Li (徐峰立) sparked quite a commotion this week after he came up with a post on his personal Weibo, exposing a male celebrity nicknamed Z for his shocking past of “bride picking”.
Several netizens were quick to speculate that the male celeb in question was EXO member Lay Zhang (张艺兴). Not long after the rumour circulated, the Mandopop hottie ended up becoming a trending topic online.
The home label to the 30-year-old star immediately issued their response to the matter and directly put the blogger on blast. The full statement reads:
“If we had to count the times we got hit by false rumors in 2021, we could turn it into an annual report summarising this year’s biggest events, let alone nine years since our debut. We have been dealing with these fabricated rumours every year for the last nine years. Every time we want to concentrate on our job, we end up getting involved in all kinds of dirty acts.
We saw your post about ‘bride picking’, Xu Leng Fi. You have until 10 am tomorrow morning to provide evidence, otherwise, for the rest of your life, look forward to paying for the damages you caused while writing your book. Law is the ultimate boundary of morality. It is our mistake to believe you have any morality at all.”
Just when a lot of fans were expecting for an intense “drama” to follow suit, the blogger in question responded by apologising to Lay for spreading the false claims. “First of all, I sincerely apologise to Zhang Yixing (Lay’s real name). Yesterday, I talked to my friends about a few conflicts in the past with Zhang Yixing’s team from around 2015,” Xu Leng Fi wrote in his post.
He added, “While I was not in my right mind, I posted unverified information on Weibo. I have to apologise to Zhang Yixing. If I offended you in any way, I hope I can be forgiven. In the future, I will be more strict with myself and (will) contribute good deeds to the society.”
The “Bee With You” singer’s label responded to the internet troll’s apology by saying, “Already read. Regarding all the old grievances with Lay’s former team, if it’s true, it’ll be investigated to the end. Regarding the legal procedure for defamation, it will continue to progress. We don’t want to hold things up. There will no longer be an announcement on the follow-up.”
“Hopefully everyone can be more civilised and be truthful on the internet in the future. Don’t start and spread rumours. Spend more time on your own life. Lastly, we apologise once again for taking everyone’s time,” they concluded their statement.
