Eleanor Lee saga: Former assistant admits to doctoring audio recording

Straits Times

21-05-2025

Eleanor Lee in a video posted on her social media accounts on May 21. PHOTOS: ELEANORLEEX/INSTAGRAM
SINGAPORE – A netizen claiming to be China-based Eleanor Lee's former assistant has admitted to editing the audio recording which got the Singaporean actress into trouble.
Lee, 25, was in the news recently for allegedly making derogatory comments about the people of China. The daughter of local Taiwan-born TV host Quan Yifeng has denied making such remarks.
But the incident has dealt a major blow to her burgeoning career in China, with her name removed from the cast list of an upcoming Chinese period drama, The Journey Of Legend.
At 10am on May 21, a netizen posted an apology on Chinese social media platform Weibo, claiming to be Lee's former assistant Xiaopang.
'After being criticised and educated by the public security authorities, I realise that the malicious editing and fabrication of Ms Eleanor Lee's recording and other acts of spreading false information are suspected to be illegal and have caused serious reputational damage to her,' the netizen wrote.
'I am now making a clarification and solemnly apologising to Ms Lee. I have realised my mistakes and solemnly promise that I will never make them again.'
The former assistant said he or she had served as Lee's assistant from 2017 to 2019, and was mainly responsible for work relating to her film and TV commitments.
'I felt I was not treated fairly when the job was terminated due to conflicts and disputes with the former company, so I privately recorded Lee before leaving the company,' the person wrote.
There was said to be a failure to reach an agreement with the company on compensation from 2019 to 2024, and the former assistant claimed to have been blocked by the company's contact person.
'Therefore, in July 2024, I posted the edited recording in the contact groups of the company and fans, and also made up a lot of content under impulse.'
The post was shared by Lee's agency on Weibo seven minutes later. It added that the incident was caused by a malicious rumour spread by a former assistant due to a personal dispute.
The agency disclosed in another post that it had filed a police report at 11pm on May 12, and that Lee cooperated with the police investigation from that time until 5am on May 13.
'The person involved in the case was summoned by the police for questioning early morning on May 13 until 3pm,' the agency wrote. 'The person involved admitted that the audio circulated on the internet was doctored.'
The agency also posted a receipt for the case and wrote that Lee's team met staff at the Singapore embassy on May 15 on matters related to the case.
Lee then appeared looking tired in a video clip posted to her social media accounts at 11am on May 21.
She said she was 'born in Taiwan, China', and had returned at the age of 16 to study and live in China.
'My feelings and position on China have never wavered,' she said. 'I have always adhered to the one-China principle and it is absolutely impossible for me to say anything insulting China and the people of China.'
Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.