Kris Wu
Wu Yi Fan[6] (Chinese: 吴亦凡, pronounced [ǔ î fǎn]; born November 6, 1990), known professionally as Kris Wu, is a Chinese Canadian rapper and convicted serial rapist.[7] He is a former member of South Korean-Chinese boy band Exo and its subgroup Exo-M under SM Entertainment, before leaving the group in 2014.[8] Wu was active as a solo artist and actor in Mainland China, and had starred in several number-one box office hits including Mr. Six and Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back, which are among the highest-grossing Chinese films of all time in China. He made his Hollywood debut in XXX: Return of Xander Cage.
Not to be confused with Chris Wu.
Kris Wu
- Kevin Li[1]
- Wu Yi Fan
China (1990–2000s)
Canada (2000s–present)
- Rapper
- singer
- actor
- model
Seoul, South Korea
Vocals
- Ace Unit Culture
- Interscope
- Universal China
- Go East
- SM
Incarcerated
13 years in prison plus deportation[5]
3+[4]
July 31, 2021
Wú Yìfán
Wú Yìfán
Lǐ Jiāhéng
Lǐ Jiāhéng
In 2021, after rape allegations emerged on Chinese social media,[9][10] Wu was investigated by the Chinese authorities. He was subsequently sentenced to 13 years of imprisonment for forcing three intoxicated women to have sex with him on November 25, 2022, by the Chinese courts,[11] and was separately fined CN¥600 million (US$84 million) for tax evasion. In November 2023, he lost an appeal of the rape trial.[12]
Early life
Li Jiaheng (Chinese: 李嘉恒; pinyin: Lǐ Jiāhéng) was born on November 6, 1990, in Guangzhou, Guangdong,[13] to Stacey Yu Wu (born Wu Xiuqin; Chinese: 吴秀芹; pinyin: Wú Xiùqín)[14] and Li Kaiming (Chinese: 李开明; pinyin: Lǐ Kāimíng). His parents divorced when he was a toddler and he was raised solely by his mother.[15]
At the age of 10, he moved to Vancouver, Canada, with his mother.[16] He returned to China at the age of 14 and attended Guangzhou No. 7 Middle School for a brief period, after which he and his mother went back to Vancouver, where he attended Point Grey Secondary School and Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School under the name Kevin Li.[17][1] At the age of 17, his legal name was changed to Wu Yi Fan (Chinese: 吴亦凡; pinyin: Wú Yìfán).
At the age of 18, Wu auditioned for SM Entertainment's Canadian global auditions, which were held in Vancouver; after passing the auditions, he became a trainee for the company and was offered a role in Exo in 2012.[13]
Personal life
Wu can speak five languages: Mandarin, Cantonese, English, Korean, and Japanese.[55]
In 2016, a woman who claimed to be Wu's ex-girlfriend accused Wu of having an affair with others.[56]
In August 2019, during the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests, Wu shared photos of the Chinese flag accompanied by the hashtags "the Chinese national flag has 1.4 billion flag bearers" and "I am a flag bearer" on his official Weibo account.[57]
Endorsements and ambassadorship
In 2015, Wu became the youth ambassador for the 3rd Silk Road International Film Festival in Xian.[58]
In 2016, he became the first endorser for Mixxtail.[59] Mercedes-Benz chose Wu as their brand ambassador in China for their Smart division[60] and introduced the limited edition "Kris Wu Edition" smart.[61] Wu has also been made the global ambassador for I.T Cashback Card under American Express Hong Kong. The brand made him chief design advisor and the face of their latest in-house brand, Under Garden. He designed the lookbook for the latest collection.[62] Burberry chose Wu as their global ambassador in 2016, making him the first non-British as well as the first Asian person to be the face of the brand.[63] It was reported that Burberry experienced a growth in sales and awareness with Chinese shoppers thanks to Kris' campaign.[64]
Wu made his international debut as the brand ambassador of Bulgari at 2017 BaselWorld.[65][66]
In 2021, over a dozen brands, including Bulgari, Lancôme, Louis Vuitton and Porsche, immediately ended ties with him after his detainment for rape allegations.[67]
Philanthropy
In June 2014, Wu joined Heart Ali, a project started by Fan Bingbing and Chen Lizhi (the general manager of Beijing Maite Media). The charity project is aimed at helping children suffering from congenital heart defects in Ngari Prefecture in Tibet.[68]
On January 21, 2016, he launched his own charity project called Extraordinary Honorary Court (不凡荣誉球场), a collaboration project with Sina, Weibo Sports, and Weibo Charity. The goal is to spread basketball in middle schools in China to encourage all basketball-loving youth to continue their dreams of pursuing this sport.[69] Wu was also announced as the ambassador for China's Jr. NBA program and is part of the program's mentor group.[70][71]
Legal issues and controversies
SM Entertainment lawsuit
On May 15, 2014, Wu filed a lawsuit against the agency to terminate his contract.[72] SM Entertainment claimed to be completely taken aback despite having dealt with several disputes regarding their contracts in the past.[73]
On July 30, 2015, SM Entertainment filed a lawsuit against Wu and the Chinese companies working with him at the Beijing court, stating that "these activities have infringed the rights of the EXO members and SM, and have caused great financial harm to us and our partners. This is not only an abuse of the system, but also an unethical move that has betrayed the trust of this company and the other members."[74] The following day, Wu released a statement defending himself stating that SM Entertainment had made him leave the group for several months and that SM Entertainment's way of mistreating and neglecting their artists resulted in serious health issues: he had to take medication to be able to work from July 2013 to January 2014, when he was diagnosed with myocarditis.[75] A settlement was reached that he will be under their management in only Korea and Japan.[76]