Taiwanese TV host Blackie Chen denies claims of sexual harassment
TAIPEI Taiwanese television host Blackie Chen has denied allegations of sexual harassment made by a former artiste of his agency.
Taiwanese singer Tina Chou, also known by her stage name Da Ya (Big Tooth), alleged on social media on Tuesday morning that she was sexually harassed by her former boss – a Mr Chen – 11 years ago.
Chou, 38, wrote in a long post on Facebook that she had gone to Hong Kong to record a show in July 2012 with five people, including a female make-up artist, a male hairstylist, her male manager, Mr Chen and his male manager.
They returned to the hotel after a day of interviews before Mr Chen asked Chou in the lift for her room number.
She claimed that Mr Chen then came to her room and hugged her from behind, before asking for sex.
Chou told Mr Chen that she treated him like an elder brother and reminded him that he was married.
Blackie Chen, 46, married Taiwanese singer Christine Fan, 47, also known by her stage name FanFan, in 2011. The couple have eight-year-old twin sons. Chen is also the chief executive of Taiwanese professional basketball league P. League+.
“No choice. Your Sister FanFan doesn’t like this kind of thing very much,” he allegedly said in 2012.
Chou wrote: “I couldn’t believe what I just heard. A man with the image of a loving husband, with them portraying the appearance of a dream couple on screen. How could he say such things after I had witnessed their unswerving love for each other?”
Mr Chen then allegedly asked to kiss her after she rejected his advances repeatedly before leaving the room. He then returned to ask for some make-up remover so that he could use this as an excuse in case he bumped into someone.
Chou was a first-generation member of Chen’s variety show Blackie’s Teenage Club (2005 to 2009) and the leader of girl group Hey Girl, formed by participants of Blackie’s Teenage Club. She was also a former artiste under Chen’s agency before leaving in 2014.
Chen reacted to the post a few hours later with a statement through his lawyers. He denied the allegations and said he would pursue legal action. His wife issued a similar statement through her manager.
Chou responded through her manager that she was not surprised by his reply, reiterating that what she said was true.
Taiwanese Netflix series Wave Makers has been credited with sparking what is being called the island’s long overdue #MeToo movement.
The allegations against Chen came after Taiwanese comedian Nono announced last week that he has put his career on hold after he was accused of sexual harassment by at least 20 women.
Taiwanese actor-host Aaron Yan apologised after his ex-boyfriend accused him of filming videos of them having sex without his approval when he was 16. Taiwanese TV host Mickey Huang issued an apology in three videos on his Facebook page after he was accused of sexual harassment.
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