Actor Patrick Shih’s agency says his kiss of Chinese singer was scripted
BEIJING – Taiwanese actor Patrick Shih’s agency has rebutted claims that he kissed a Chinese singer on a reality show of his own accord, saying it was all according to the script.
Shih, who is starring in Chinese acting reality show Hit It Off, is best known for the Taiwanese hit time-travel romance series Someday Or One Day (2019 to 2020).
In the July 27 episode of Hit It Off, the 26-year-old and Chinese singer Zhang Yifan, 23, were paired for a scene inspired by the Chinese idol drama With You (2016).
Shih was seen kissing Zhang, a member of former Chinese girl group BonBon Girls 303, twice on the lips on the reality show. She seemed taken aback and looked visibly surprised.
“Did both of you try it again as I did not shout ‘stop’?” the director was heard saying off-screen.
Zhang later said to Shih: “It was so sudden that I didn’t expect it.”
The actress’ fans alleged on social media that Shih was required to kiss only her face, and not her lips. They accused him of workplace harassment and urged him to apologise to Zhang.
Hit It Off’s production unit took to Weibo on July 29 to respond to the online furore.
“During recording, all the staff and actors created the content professionally and completed the shooting while respecting the script,” it wrote.
On Monday night, Giant Goal Entertainment, Shih’s agency in China, said the actor – who came to prominence in the second season of web series HIStory (2018) – had acted professionally and followed the script.
It posted parts of the script showing that Shih was required to act on impulse and kiss the actress on the lips, with her looking stunned. It also shared the graphics used to guide the actors for the scene.
The agency urged netizens to remove the false allegations and said it would take legal action if needed.
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