China actress Zheng Shuang in new scandal for alleged pay of US$24.6 million for a TV show, renewing debate on inequality
- Star’s former partner shared a video with screenshots of alleged chats between him and Zheng about the payment
- She was at the centre of a previous scandal this year when she was accused of abandoning her two children born to US-based surrogates
Her former partner Zhang Heng posted a video on Weibo on Monday that included screenshots of alleged chats between him, Zheng and her parents, where they discussed Zheng’s payment from the upcoming drama A Chinese Ghost Story.
He also accused Zheng in the post of trying to get rid of her pet dog when it became sick because treatment would cost 2,000 yuan (US$308) and eating snacks in a supermarket without paying.
According to the screenshots, Zheng had negotiated 160 million yuan for a total of 77 filming days, bringing her daily net gain to 2.08 million yuan (US$320,000).
The Shanghai Municipal Tax Service and Beijing Municipal Radio and Television Bureau declared today that they are investigating Zheng’s case as well as fraudulent contracts, according to state broadcaster CCTV, saying that they will strictly control production cost for TV dramas and payment for actors.
China’s National Radio and Television Administration created new rules in 2018, saying celebrities invited to appear in movies and TV shows should not be paid more than 40 per cent of production cost, with the main actors less than 70 per cent of the total cost.
