Taiwan’s #MeToo: Blackie Chen sues Tina Chou for $436,000; second woman comes forward to accuse him
TAIPEI – Taiwanese celebrity couple Blackie Chen and Christine Fan have filed a civil lawsuit against Taiwanese singer Tina Chou, who had accused him of sexual harassment.
Chen, 46, a popular host, and his singer-wife, 47, have denied her allegations and are suing for NT$10 million (S$436,000) to “restore the reputation of the parties concerned”, according to the lawsuit filed on Wednesday.
The couple also wanted an apology and said the money would be donated to charities which protect women and victims of crimes.
Chou, 38, also known by her stage name Da Ya (Big Tooth), alleged on social media on Tuesday morning that her former boss – a “Mr Chen” – had hugged her from behind and tried to coerce her into having sex 11 years ago. Chen and Fan tied the knot in 2011.
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.
On Wednesday night, a second woman came forward to accuse Chen of sexual harassment.
Taiwanese actress Yuan Kuo, 34, posted a lengthy Facebook post which detailed two alleged encounters with him.
She claimed that the first time, he grabbed her from behind and demanded she kiss him. To get out of the situation, she said she kissed him on the cheek and he let her go.
In the second instance, she alleged that he took her to the home he shared with Fan and threw her on the bed.
She said she struggled furiously and felt disgusted when his lower body pressed onto her. Only when she started crying did he relent and let her leave.
She said she has since got over the incidents, which allegedly took place in 2015, when Fan was pregnant with twin boys, who are now eight.
Kuo added that she has made peace with herself and even appeared on one of his television shows in 2019.
She said she was standing up in solidarity with Chou. “There is only one reason why I decided to speak out now, that is, I don’t want Da Ya to be alone.”
Chen’s representative said in a subsequent statement: “We will not respond to unfounded accusations.”
In recent weeks, a number of male celebrities have been dragged into Taiwan’s current #MeToo wave, including comedian Nono, actor-host Aaron Yan and television host Mickey Huang.
Nono, who announced last week that he was putting his career on hold after at least 20 women came forward to accuse him of sexual harassment and assault, has received further backlash for his lack of a public apology.
Taiwanese influencer Anissa, who goes by the name Teacher Xiaohong and revealed his alleged acts at a press conference last week, fired another salvo on social media on Thursday.
Sharing a spreadsheet of the 20 alleged victims with their ages, dates, venues and accounts of what happened, she wrote: “I gave you a week to man up, but you did not, so I have no choice but to jolt your sleeping memories awake.”
His representative declined to comment on the latest post.
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