Ever since Cantopop singer Wang Leehom (王力宏) confirmed his divorce on 15th December, it has been one (devastating) surprise after another. What started as another celebrity divorce announcement soon became a full-blown scandal when ex-wife Lee Jing Lei (李靚蕾) dropped a hot exposé.
Jing Lei claimed that Leehom has cheated on her multiple times with various girls, including BY2’s Yumi. Needless to say, brands started dropping him and Leehom’s father tried stepping in to resolve matters. Unfortunately, it only made things worse. Recently, the singer finally responded to the issue and of course, Jing Lei clapped back.
On 19th December, Leehom, at long last, broke his silence on the scandal. He attempted to clear his name and explain his side of the story. To be honest, we’re not sure if it worked. The singer first started by emphasising his innocence: “I can say with certainty that I have not been unfaithful to our marriage.” According to Leehom, he hadn’t wanted to refute the accusations as it would make Jing Lei look bad. “But if I don’t respond, everyone will believe that those things are true,” he said.
Leehom claimed he had first met Jing Lei, who was known as Michiko Nishiharu (西春美智子) during a concert in 2003. Jing Lei had been 16 then. However, Leehom emphasised that he had only contacted her 10 years later. According to his screenshot, his first message to her after their meeting was on 16th June 2011. It was a simple exchange, he asked if she would be in New York on the 27th and she dropped a candid reply. By then, Leehom claimed she was 26 and no longer a minor.
They married in 2013, and Leehom alleged he had lived in fear under blackmail and threats until they separated in 2019. Apparently, Jing Lei had gotten pregnant prior to their marriage. She then insisted they get married else he would never get to meet his kids. He eagerly did so but they supposedly had a lot of troubles during their marriage. The couple ended up seeing 5 different marriage counsellors, but to no avail. They eventually decided to separate in December 2020.
Leehom claimed he was willing to give money -approximately 150 million yuan (RM99.5mil) -, property and more in an attempt to provide a comfortable life for his family. However, Jing Lei apparently felt it wasn’t enough. Leehom stated he wasn’t concerned with the money, he just wanted to be able to continue meeting his kids. He apologised to Jing Lei for “not meeting (her) standards of a qualified husband“. He also apologised to his family and fans for not managing his marriage well.
Netizens weren’t impressed however as they spotted several mistakes in his writing. Apparently, the singer did the maths wrong as he claimed they had no contact for 10 years after 2003, but he emailed her in 2011. Additionally, he referred to Jing Lei as “Michiko Nishiharu” in his writing, but the email showed he was talking to a “Michiko Nishimura”.
Others also pointed out that Jing Lei’s nationality did not matter so there was no need to emphasise it in his post. Furthermore, Weibo blogger Han Chao (韩潮) stated that his 5 years and 8 months of marriage supposedly spent in fear still produced several kids. “Refuting “false allegations” is not by typing on the keyboard,” he said sternly. “It relies on evidence, show some evidence!”
It didn’t take long for Jing Lei to call the singer out. She blatantly stated he was lying to the public to protect himself. “I remember you told me that you think the best way to (do) public relations is to try and destroy another person’s reputation and mislead the public to shift (the) focus,” she said. “Nice try.” Jing Lei claimed they had actually been in continuous contact since 2003. They had gone on dates, birthday parties and enjoyed a lot of time together. “You don’t remember?” she asked sarcastically. “On these occasions, our friends at the time can also testify.”
Jing Lei also clarified that she had not asked for more than necessary. She had only been thinking of the kids. Additionally, Jing Lei claimed Leehom had twisted the narrative to paint him as the victim. According to the psychologist they saw, Jing Lei was the one who had been mentally abused, humiliated and gaslighted. “(The psychologist) also believes you (Leehom) have a sexual addiction and a narcissistic personality,” she stated.
The psychologist also supposedly claimed Leehom would go through many professionals until he found one that agreed with his narrative; that his wife is a lunatic. Jing Lei included photos of the psychologist’s notes to her. She stated that “Bobby” and “Sasha” were Leehom and Jing Lei’s nicknames respectively. “Of the five you mentioned,” Jing Lei wrote. “Only two (including this one) were actually consulted. The others were only tried.”
Jing Lei has thoroughly ruined Leehom’s reputation, or at least put cracks in it. With every new bit of info dropped, Jing Lei is pulling more people to her side. It looks as though Wang Leehom soon won’t have a leg to stand on; a far cry from the celebrated singer’s image.
Stay up to date on the drama here.
Update (20th December, 4pm):
It appears that Leehom is finally trying to put an end to this she-said-he-said saga with the following “apology”.
“After thinking about it, [I realised that] men should be the ones bearing full responsibility. I will no longer explain nor defend myself. Not managing my marriage, causing trouble to my family and not portraying the right image as an idol to the public are all my fault.
I’d like to solemnly apologise to my parents, Jing Lei and our children. Arguing about the past is meaningless since we’re now divorced. From today, I’ll pay attention to my words and actions along with taking on the responsibility of a father, son and public figure. Financially, I’ll do my best to look after Jing Lei and our kids.
I’m prepared to take a break from work and spend more time with my parents and children to make up for the damage that has been caused. Jing Lei, we still have to look after and bring up our three kids together, [so I’ll] transfer the house that you’re living in to you. I will bear the cost of raising and educating the kids. This matter was definitely caused by me not handling it well. Once again, I apologise to everyone.”
Sources: Facebook (1)(2), Xuan (1)(2)(3)(4), Weibo, Instagram
