Chinese-Canadian pop star Kris Wu has been detained on suspicion of rape, police in Beijing have said, after being accused of luring young women into sexual relationships.
In July, the former member of K-pop band Exo was publicly accused by a teenager of having sex with her while she was drunk – an allegation he denied.
The teenager said seven other women contacted her to say the 30-year-old seduced them with promises of jobs and other opportunities. She said some were under 18 but did not say if they were younger than China‘s age of consent of 14.
In a statement released on Saturday, Beijing police said Wu had been “criminally detained” on suspicion of rape “in response to relevant information reported on the internet” including that he “repeatedly lured young women to have sexual relations”.
No further details were given.
The pop star has previously denied the accusations.
“There was no ‘groupie sex’! There was no ‘underage’!” he wrote on his social media account in July. “If there were this kind of thing, please everyone relax, I would put myself in jail!”
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Wu rose to fame as a member of K-pop band Exo, who formed in 2011 and went on to become one of Korea’s most famous pop bands, alongside the likes of BTS and Blackpink.
The star left in 2014 to pursue a career as a solo artist and as an actor, and made his Hollywood debut alongside Vin Diesel in XXX: Return of Xander Cage in 2017. He has also modelled for Burberry.
News of his arrest was trending as the most searched topic on Chinese social media site Weibo on Saturday night. Some users started commenting on Wu’s social media account, telling him to “Get out of China!”
Wu is a Canadian citizen, according to the police statement.
The allegations against him were first published by the teenage accuser on social media. She later reiterated her claims in an interview with the internet portal NetEase.
The following day, at least 10 brands – including Porsche and Louis Vuitton – dropped endorsement and other deals with Wu.
Wu has previously said that he met the young woman on 5 December 2020 but that “I didn’t force her to drink”, and “there was not this sort of ‘details’ she describes”.
Meanwhile, police said last week that they had arrested a man who attempted to defraud both Wu and his accuser.
The man, surnamed Liu, pretended to be a victim who had had a similar experience with Wu in order to elicit personal information from the teenager. Both she and Wu said they had asked authorities to investigate.
The force’s statement on Saturday did give any information about that case.
US actor Terry Carter, who starred in 1970s TV shows including Battlestar Galactica and McCloud, has died at the age of 95.
Carter “died peacefully” at his New York home on Tuesday, it was announced on his official website.
He was best known for his roles as Colonel Tigh in the original Battlestar Galactica series and Sergeant Joe Broadhurst on McCloud.
During his decades-long career he was seen to break down barriers, including in 1956 becoming one of the first black actors to become a TV sitcom regular, playing Private Sugarman on The Phil Silvers Show.
His first major Hollywood role was playing Detective Max Jaffie in 1970 hit Company Of Killers, before his portrayal of Sergeant Joe Broadhurst in the US police drama series McCloud which ran from 1970 to 1977.
Arguably his most well-known role came for starring as Colonel Tigh, second-in-command of the starship fleet in original science-fiction series Battlestar Galactica in 1978.
The series came off the back of the success of Star Wars in 1977.
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In 1989, he was nominated for an Emmy award for producing and directing a TV musical documentary titled A Duke Named Ellington about the life and work of the pianist, composer, and jazz star.
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His other credits including starring in Foxy Brown and Benji; creating a documentary about African-American anthropologist, dancer, and choreographer Katherine Dunham; and becoming a TV anchor newscaster for WBZ-TV Eyewitness News in Boston in 1965.
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He also appeared in three Broadway productions, with his debut in Mrs Patterson, as well as the revival of the musical Finian’s Rainbow, and his final appearance was in the musical Kwamina, opposite British star Sally Ann Howes.
Carter is survived by his wife Etaferhu Zenebe-DeCoste, his two children Miguel and Melinda and Mrs Zenebe-DeCoste’s daughter.
Chris Columbus – the man behind Home Alone, Mrs Doubtfire and two Harry Potter movies – is set to write and direct the film, which is being produced by Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment.
The movie is based on Osman’s debut novel of the same name which follows a group of friends in a retirement home who solve cold cases for fun, but become entangled in a real murder.
It is set in a retirement home Cooper’s Chase, in the fictitious village of Fairhaven in Kent.
Osman said the production will take place from “the end of June to September” in the UK.
The fourth main character, a retired nurse called Joyce Meadowcroft, has not yet been confirmed.
Osman hinted at the casting, saying: “Joyce, we’re still in negotiations but again the name is the one that people most shout at me in the street”.
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He teased: “Lots more casting to come in the following weeks.”
An adaptation of the novel was first confirmed in 2020 after Amblin Partners secured rights in a competitive auction.
The fastest-selling adult crime debut, Osman has since written three more books in the series, with a fifth due out next year.
Before becoming a well-known face on quiz shows including Pointless and Richard Osman’s House Of Games, the quiz master and author worked as a TV entertainment executive, producing shows including 8 Out Of 10 Cats, Deal Or No Deal and Whose Line Is It Anyway?
Ryan Reynolds appears to have confirmed that Wrexham striker Ollie Palmer is in his next film, Deadpool 3.
The Hollywood star, an owner of the Welsh football club,shared the trailer on social media, writing: “Found the guy who killed Bambi’s mom”.
An eagle-eyed Wrexham fan, who calls himself Beardy on Twitter, quickly noticed a man wearing a denim jacket in the background of one of the scenes, identifying him as “one Ollie Palmer”.
A podcast dedicated to the football club, Fearless In Devotion, backed up his claim, sharing the still from the trailer along with a screenshot of Palmer, 32, commenting on Reynold’s post: “If you squint…”
Reynolds, 47, commented on the podcast’s post: “Keen eyesight”.
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The podcast team went on to say they had verified the claim, saying in another comment on the post: “I’ve asked him. He’s confirmed it is him”.
The new Marvel film – which will be out in the UK on 26 July – brings Deadpool and Wolverine (played by Hugh Jackman) together to defeat a common enemy.
Palmer appears to make his brief background appearance in the first scene of the trailer, in which Deadpool walks over to Wolverine at a bar.
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He’s wearing a white shirt, jeans and denim jacket, and has dark hair and a bushy dark beard.
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Palmer joined Wrexham from AFC Wimbledon in January 2022, a year after Reynolds and It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia co-creator Rob McElhenney, 46, took over the club.
Since then, the Welsh football club has secured two successive promotions, which along with the popular Welcome To Wrexham docuseries, has propelled it into the global spotlight.
In 2022, Reynolds and McElhenney were honoured by the Welsh government, the Football Association of Wales and S4C for promoting the country and its language with the Dragon Award.
They’ve also met with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, the King and Queen and the Prince of Wales.
Sky News has contacted Palmer’s representative for comment.