People usually do the stupidest things when they are drunk. Unfortunately, stupid doesn’t always mean funny and the consequences can be brutal. Malaysian-born artist Gary Chaw (曹佰豪) or better known as Cao Ge (Cao Xiaoge), understands this better than anyone. Regretfully, it hasn’t helped much.
Yesterday (9th March), a 2-minute video of someone swearing and throwing a tantrum in a restaurant in Taiwan went viral. As it turns out, the perpetrator was a drunken Gary. However, the artist later claimed that it was not the full story. He shared his side and added that he would not apologise.
The whole mess started when an anonymous source released the 2-minute video. In it you can hear someone cursing loudly with “F**k,” and “B***h”. Apparently, someone from the restaurant was also assaulted. “Before the meal started, a certain person in the booth next door (the voice should be easy to recognise) tried to (cause) trouble with us using words. We ignored it, (but) he continued to scold us with indecent words,” the source reportedly claimed.
They added that they asked the person to stop and said they would call the police. This supposedly made the other guest angrier and he tried to hit them, but ended up hitting the restaurant staff instead. “We have a short clip of him ranting, but no face was recorded because of the curtain,” they stated. The source claimed that his manager had offered to pay for the meal as reconciliation. “But, we want him to make a public apology on his social media because he is a public figure and a repeat offender!” they stated.
The police confirmed Gary had been eating and drinking at the restaurant before having an argument with another guest. When they arrived, Gary had supposedly already left. The person from the restaurant and guests did not press charges. However, Gary was reportedly still investigated under Taiwanese defamation laws. Taiwanese media tried to contact the artist after the news came out, yet, no one from his side gave a response.
It was only later that Gary finally came forward to clarify his side of the story. He stated he had been drinking chicken soup with his mentor and a few friends. However, the guests in the booth beside them were being rather loud. He supposedly asked the restaurant staff to talk to the guests, but was rejected. As they were leaving, their neighbouring guests supposedly shouted “F**k you!” loudly, which angered Gary and he lost his temper.
The artist claimed the video released only showed the other party’s side. He added that the police have already taken the involved parties’ confessions. “It’s the (guests) who wants me to apologise and blackmails me,” he stated. “I won’t apologise.” Gary also alleged that the police have transcripts and videos. “They (the police) say this kind of thing happens often,” he added.
Gary isn’t worried about the backlash as he’s used to dealing with situations after he gets drunk and loses his temper. However, he will accept any consequences that come his way. Gary also wishes for the anonymous source to come clean about the issue. It has badly affected his family members and wife. “I am also a human being with emotions,” he said.
This isn’t the first time Gary lost his temper while drunk. The last time he did so was in 2013 at Jimmy Lin (林志颖)’s wedding. After that, his daughter had advised him to quit drinking. He had allegedly stated then that he would quit the music scene, donate 10 million to charity and allow himself to be arrested for three days if he broke his promise.
Well, what was supposed to be a quiet dinner was quick to turn into a mess. Losing your temper is one thing, but intentionally hurting people is another. Hopefully, he learns to control that quick temper of his!
Sources: China Press (1)(2), Xuan (1)(2)(3)(4), bc3ts.net (1)(2), YouTube
