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Chinese Canadian musician and actor Kris Wu was sentenced to prison in a Beijing court on Friday for rape charges dating back to 2020.
The court of the Beijing district of Chaoyang determined that an investigation had sufficiently proven that, between November and December of 2020, the 32-year-old multihyphenate performer—real name Wu Yifan—had raped three women.
He was sentenced to 13 years in prison and deportation from China, the latter to be carried out after his sentence is completed, Reuters reported.
"Wu Yifan took advantage of three drunken women...at his home," the district court said in a statement released through its WeChat account.
The allegations against Wu first arose in July of last year, when 18-year-old college student and beauty influencer Du Meizhu accused him of sexually assaulting multiple women while unconscious or impaired by alcohol, some of whom were underage. The singer had reportedly enticed these women to his home with the promise of discussing career opportunities.
Wu denied the allegations at the time, but by the end of the month, he was detained by police. Since then, he has been dropped by numerous brands as a spokesman, including Louis Vuitton, Bulgari, L'Oreal Men, and Porsche.
Speaking with the outlet NetEase following her allegations, Du said that she knew of at least eight other women that Wu had victimized and that he paid her around $77,000 to "keep quiet."
"I am curious as to how a person like this becomes a top star?" Du said. "Or is it that only people like this can become top stars? I hope that society will reflect on this."
In addition to the rape charges, Wu was also found guilty of "assembling a crowd to engage in sexual promiscuity," stemming from an incident in 2018. He was fined 600 million yuan (roughly $83 million) for tax evasion charges, as well.
Born in Guangzhou, China, Wu was raised in both his hometown and in Vancouver and maintains Canadian citizenship. He first rose to fame in the entertainment business as a member of the South Korean K-pop group Exo in 2012. In 2014, he left the group to pursue a solo career in China. His only solo album to date, Antares, was released in 2018 by Universal Music.
Wu found additional success as an actor, landing a supporting role in 2016's Mr. Six and the lead role in 2017's Journey to the West: The Demon Strikes Back, both of which were box office successes in China. He also appeared opposite Vin Diesel and Ruby Rose in the 2017 sequel, xXx: Return of Xander Cage.
"Global Affairs Canada is aware that a decision was rendered in the case of Mr. Kris Wu on November 25, 2022," Canadian Embassy spokesperson Rochelle Bacigalupo told Newsweek.
"Consular officials are actively engaged on Mr. Wu's case and are providing consular assistance to Mr. Wu and his family. Consular officials have been closely following developments in Mr. Wu's case, and attended the verdict pronouncement on November 25, 2022. Canadian officials monitor the cases of Canadian citizens detained abroad, and advocate for cases to be treated fairly and equally as per international and local laws. Due to privacy considerations, no further information can be provided."
Newsweek reached out to Universal Music for comment.
Update 12/12/22, 5:50 p.m. ET: This article was updated with a response from the Canadian Embassy in Beijing.
About the writer
Thomas Kika is a Newsweek weekend reporter based in upstate New York. His focus is reporting on crime and national ... Read more