Actor Eddie Peng recently won a victory of sorts after a Beijing tech firm issued an apology for allowing rumours about his sexuality to be spread on its social media site.
This is hardly the first time that the Taiwan-born Canadian actor, singer and model, 39, has debunked rumours that he’s gay.
In response to the gossip back then, Peng’s label issued a statement on Chinese platform Weibo that the rumour had “seriously damaged his rights and interests.”
It also warned that legal action would be taken against those who circulated these rumours regarding Peng and asked for the false information to be deleted.
Peng expressed his ire in a Weibo post as well, writing, “Fake. Lame. Rotten to the core.”
More recently, Eddie Peng Studio posted a letter on Weibo from Zhong Lun Law Firm to announce that legal action had been taken against Beijing Fenmo Technology, the parent company of social media app, Fenhei, because Fenmo had not stopped rumours about Peng’s sexuality from circulating on the app.
The studio added that Fenmo had issued a letter of apology, which was published in a Chinese newspaper.
A screenshot of the apology was also posted on Weibo.
The studio also acknowledged and thanked “every friend who gave their care and support”, 8days reported.
Peng also faced rumours that he’s gay in 2017 when gossip circulated that Peng was in a same-sex relationship with Zhang Lei, a Chinese venture capitalist. The news was later proven to be false.
Born on March 24, 1982, the actor began his career when he was cast as in Tomorrow by director Yang Daqing during a summer vacation in Taiwan in 2002. The drama was adapted from the Japanese manga series Asunaro Hakusho, written by Fumi Saimon.
Peng built a teenage fan following after the romantic comedy gained popularity.
In 2003, he had his first leading role in the Taiwanese drama Scent of Love, which tells the story of star-crossed lovers who transcend life and death to find one another in their many reincarnations.
In 2005, he starred in the drama When Dolphin Met Cat, playing an autistic youth. To prepare himself for the filming, Peng took one month to learn how to interact with dolphins from a trained instructor. He then starred in Chinese xianxia drama Chinese Paladin and wuxia drama The Young Warriors, which were extremely popular during their run and led to increased recognition for him in the Mainland. /TISG
Read also: Eddie Peng rubbishes claims that he is dating Danson Tang