DJ Koo sparks concern after sudden weight loss following wife Barbie Hsu's death
Taiwanese actress Barbie Hsu and South Korean musician DJ Koo tied the knot in 2022. Photo: @asosbarbiedee/Instagram
South Korean musician Koo Jun-yup, also known as DJ Koo, has sparked health concern with his dramatic weight loss following the sudden death of his wife, Taiwanese actress Barbie Hsu.
On May 11, Hsu's mother shared on Facebook a family photo taken during a Mothers Day dinner.
In the picture, Koo – known for his muscular physique – appeared noticeably gaunt, with his neck bones prominently visible despite wearing a cap and glasses.
The post was captioned: 'This year's Mothers Day feels especially sad. My son-in-law has been losing so much weight day by day, mourning my daughter.'
DJ Koo (far right) has sparked health concern after appearing visibly thinner in a photo shared by Hsu's mother. Photo: Facebook
Many netizens quickly flooded the comments section with condolence messages, while others expressed concern at Koo's significant weight loss.
"DJ Koo has lost so much weight. I feel so bad," one netizen wrote.
Another added: "I cried when I saw DJ Koo. He became so thin."
Koo, 55, has stayed out of the public eye since Hsu's funeral and has reportedly lost over 12kg, becoming almost unrecognisable, as per Taiwanese media reports in March.
Koo previously shared that he was going through a period of indescribable grief and pain after Hsu's death, which occurred just a week before their third wedding anniversary.
The couple first dated in 1998 but split apparently due to a 'dating ban' imposed by Koo's management.
They reconnected after Hsu divorced Chinese actor Wang Xiaofei in 2021 and went on to tie the knot in 2022.
Hsu died of pneumonia at the age of 48 on Feb 2 contracting the flu during a vacation in Japan.
Her body was cremated, and Koo brought her ashes back to Taiwan.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Express
11 hours ago
- Daily Express
I was blacklisted from Sabah last week, now banned from leaving Malaysia: Fahmi Reza
Published on: Saturday, June 07, 2025 Published on: Sat, Jun 07, 2025 By: Malay Mail Text Size: Fahmi shared on social media that he arrived at KLIA2 for a short two-day trip to a concert in Singapore. - Pic via Fahmi Reza | Facebook Graphic artist and political activist Fahmi Reza said he was stopped from boarding a flight to Singapore today after being informed he was blacklisted from travelling overseas — the second such travel restriction imposed on him in just over two weeks. In a statement posted on his social media, Fahmi recounted arriving at KLIA2 at around 7.30am to catch a 9.35am flight for a short two-day trip to attend a concert featuring South Korean band Slant and Singaporean act Sial. Advertisement But at the international departure counter, Immigration officers told him he had been flagged and needed to wait at their office. 'I was asked to wait while they checked with TCO (Travel Control Office/Order). Then they took my passport and IC for photocopying. They also wanted printed copies of my boarding pass and e-ticket, even though I had them on my phone,' he wrote, adding that with only 10 minutes left before boarding, an airport staff member helped him get the documents printed at a hotel nearby. When he returned to Immigration with the documents, Fahmi said an officer told him, 'Bukit Aman has not given clearance for you to leave the country.' He said no explanation was provided and he was escorted out of the departure area. Advertisement Fahmi is well known for his satirical illustrations that often critique political leaders and institutions. He believes the ban is linked to his artwork criticising the recent appointment of former Sabah chief minister Tun Musa Aman as the state's new Yang di-Pertua Negeri. Just weeks earlier, on May 29, the Sabah Immigration Department had denied Fahmi entry into the state under Section 65(1)(a) of the Immigration Act 1959/63. He said he was flown back to Kuala Lumpur the same day without further explanation. That incident followed his earlier arrest by Sabah police in February this year over another satirical post. Authorities had opened investigations under the Sedition Act for allegedly insulting the royal institution. 'Last week I was blacklisted from entering Sabah. This week, I'm blacklisted from leaving the country,' he wrote. 'My only 'offence' was creating critical artwork.' * Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel and Telegram for breaking news alerts and key updates! * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia
The Star
11 hours ago
- The Star
A new generation of fashion lovers are just getting to know Steve Madden
Steve Madden, the eponymous founder of the famous shoe brand – and a man with a somewhat complicated history – said he had never seen anything quite like this in his 35-year career. He did an interview with the Cutting Room Floor fashion podcast that was posted online recently, and the reaction on social media (and beyond) has been overwhelmingly positive. 'Usually people are like 'what do you want from a con man?'' he said in a phone interview. But this time, 'people were calling me and they're like, 'Did you read the comments?'' he said. 'Some people want me to run for president.' He referred to the controversies and struggles he has been a part of over the years before pausing and adding that 'it's nice to be appreciated'. Political office isn't in his future, but later in the phone interview he said that he would consider running 'for the president of the board in my building' after all this positive attention. In the podcast interview, Madden and the host, Recho Omondi, touched on a range of topics, including his past white-collar crimes and the current government. Clips of the interview have been viewed by millions of users on TikTok, and Omondi's Patreon, which is where the podcast is posted, received 'thousands' of new subscribers, she wrote in a recent post. Read more: Style reigns supreme: Catherine, Princess of Wales, proves she's still got it In the days after the interview was released, stock in the Steve Madden brand rallied to its highest point in a month, and many TikTok users noted they were going to buy his shoes. In an emailed statement, the company said Google searches for 'Steve Madden' were up more than 60% and website visits from organic search had increased by 10%. The Steve Madden brand offers popular footwear styles at more affordable prices. Photo: Instagram/Steve Madden It's a case study in the best kind of press engagement, particularly for a brand that has, for years, been outside the trendy spotlight and more often associated with clearance aisles and outlet stores, said Matthew Quint, director of the Center On Global Brand Leadership at Columbia Business School. In the podcast interview, Madden owned up to the securities fraud he committed with Jordan Belfort, which landed him in prison in the early 2000s (Belfort's story inspired Martin Scorsese's 2013 film The Wolf Of Wall Street ). 'I was too ambitious, I was too greedy,' he said. 'I was complicit – I'm not blaming anybody.' On tariffs and the global trade war, he noted that policymakers, and in particular president Donald Trump, 'fundamentally do not understand what they're doing'. He also embraced the brand's reputation for copying styles from luxury fashion houses at cheaper price points. 'It's like calling the Beatles a knockoff band because they would take a little bit from Motown and a little bit from Elvis,' he said in the podcast interview. On the day the podcast was released, Madden sued Adidas for its 'efforts to monopolise' stripes after the sneaker brand complained that two of Madden's sneaker designs, with two stripes instead of three, infringed its trademark on the three stripes. Most of the reaction to the podcast interview on TikTok and Reddit praised Madden's candor and his plain way of speaking. Others found it refreshing for a business leader to speak so bluntly about the current administration's policies. For a younger generation, the interview also served as a moment of discovery, with many learning for the first time about Madden – his background, his struggles – or just putting a face to a name they have seen or heard over the years, Quint said. 'Suddenly it's like, Oh, that's Steve the shoe guy?' he said. 'There's sort of a surprise factor in all of it – the uncovering of who he is and thinking of that brand in a new light.' Madden admitted that perhaps a younger generation was meeting him for the first time. 'I'm kind of like an author, an author that you know very well but you don't know what he looks like,' he said. 'Then they get to see me – they've been wearing my shoes forever but I'm a real guy. I'm a real guy who goes to the grocery store and curses too much, you know, and tries to be a good dad.' In fact, his story – already extensively covered in the media, in his autobiography and in The Wolf Of Wall Street – is seemingly so fresh for a younger generation that many TikTok users suggested Netflix should produce a documentary about him. Read more: How today's best-dressed men aren't just wearing style – they're shaping it During the podcast interview he was shown a pair of Alaia shoes that his brand had replicated. His reaction was to ask, referring to his customers, 'Do you think some of my girls even know who Alaia is?' That line struck many who viewed the interview as endearing. 'From day one, I have loved Steve Madden and now I love him even more,' Gabriella Masseran said in a TikTok post, reacting to the interview. 'He's for the girls,' she added, before walking her followers through her personal collection of Madden's shoes. 'It felt really genuine – he wasn't snooty,' said Victoria Thompson, 31, a government worker and content creator in Augusta, Georgia. 'I felt like that could have been my uncle. And he called us his girls. I'm like, you know what? Let me go support him.' After seeing the clips on TikTok over the weekend, she drove to the nearest Dillard's department store and bought a pair of Steve Madden slippers. They look like a type produced by Hermes, but are far less expensive. – ©2025 The New York Times Company This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
New Straits Times
12 hours ago
- New Straits Times
#SHOWBIZ: Nabila Razali reveals baby's face, name after five months
KUALA LUMPUR: Singer and actress Nabila Razali has finally revealed the face and name of her first child, now five months old. Nabila, whose full name is Nur Nabila Mohd Razali, 33, took to Instagram to ask for well wishes for her son, Nik Muhammad. "Baby M is now five months old and I think it's time to introduce my son, Nik Muhammad Nik Iruwan," she posted. "Thank you all for always praying for Baby M; I hope everything is wonderful for you." Nabila also invited the public to Baby M's aqiqah ceremony in Kota Bharu, Kelantan, today. "Happy Eid al-Adha to everyone. May our sacrifices and acts of worship be a blessing in this world and the hereafter," she wrote. "Praise be to God, this year I had the opportunity to celebrate Raya in Kelantan. To everyone, see you soon at Baby M's aqiqah ceremony, okay. "Everyone who attends, don't forget to follow the SOP; we'd love for you to come eat and take pictures, okay." Nabila married entrepreneur Nik Iruwan Nik Izani on Nov 18 2023. They welcomed their son, affectionately nicknamed Baby M, on Dec 23 last year.
