Eleanor Lee wins defamation lawsuit in China, former assistant to apologise on Weibo, Entertainment News
Her lawyer Yang Shuguang revealed this in a Weibo post yesterday (July 29), adding in his statement, the court recognised that Xiao Pang, despite knowing posting the fabricated content online could damage Eleanor's reputation, continued to do so just so that they could "vent their unhappiness".
In April, a 31-second audio clip was released on Weibo, where a woman, allegedly 25-year-old Eleanor who is based in China, said "most Chinese people are stupid" and that she is "not here for the fame but for money".
The clip angered patriotic Chinese netizens and while Eleanor and her management agency clarified on May 10 that she wasn't the person in the clip, netizens speculated that she may be digitally replaced from her upcoming drama The Journey of Legend.
The controversy also led to former local celebrity hairstylist Addy Lee revealing his fallout with Eleanor and her mum, local host Quan Yi Fong, in a long livestream on May 13.
Yi Fong responded later that his criticism has "no effect" on her.
Xiao Pang confessed in a Weibo post on May 21 that they had maliciously edited, fabricated and spread the audio clip, and publicly apologised to Eleanor for the damage it had caused her. They added that they did so to vent their anger over the unfair treatment they had allegedly received while working as Eleanor's manager and assistant in China from 2017 to 2019.
Yang added in his statement yesterday: "The court held that the statement which the defendant had published was insufficient to eliminate or mitigate the negative public opinion and impact caused by the incident [to Eleanor].
"Based on this, the court ruled that the defendant must publish a statement of apology in their name on a designated space on Weibo for 60 days, and compensate her for the mental harm caused, protection of her rights and other monetary damages."
He also wrote that Eleanor intend to sue some internet trolls for "obvious intent to infringe, and maliciously fabricated and disseminated rumours to damage her reputation".
Eleanor's management agency reposted Yang's post on their Weibo profile with the caption: "The internet is not a lawless compound. Please stop publishing and disseminating false information immediately. In response to the continuous malicious rumours and slandering of Eleanor, her management team will resolutely pursue legal responsibility in accordance with the law and spare no effort to safeguard her legitimate rights."
Her management team also reiterate Eleanor's appreciation for Chinese culture in a separate post.
"Eleanor has always loved and respected Chinese culture and stood firm on her own. Her studio firmly protects her legal rights and calls on everyone not to believe in and spread rumours and jointly resist false information to build a clean cyberspace," they wrote.
In a Weibo post yesterday, Xiao Pang posted the first of their 60 public apologies to Eleanor.
The post reads: "Hello everyone, I am Xiao Pang, Eleanor Lee's former assistant. In the reputational dispute case between Eleanor and myself, I have received the judgement made by the court, and I fully respect and recognise the outcome.
"My misconduct has caused serious distress to Eleanor's reputation and life. For this, I am deeply guilty and remorseful, and I hereby express my sincerest apologies to Eleanor. I also apologise to the public who were misled by false information.
"I solemnly promise that in the future, I will strictly abide by the law and regulations, pursue legal knowledge earnestly to enhance my legal awareness and never do anything that violates the law and regulations or damages the rights and interests of others. I also urge everyone to take this as a warning, do not believe and spread rumours and jointly maintain a clean cyberspace.
"Once again, I express my deepest apologies to Eleanor."
[[nid:720694]]
yeo.shuhui@asiaone.com
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