Gillian Chung Talks About Regrets After Joining the Industry
As one half of the legendary pop duo Twins, Gillian Chung (鍾欣潼) appeared to have it all. When Twins first debuted in 2001, they quickly became a pop idol phenomenon, releasing numerous records, topping billboards, and winning multiple awards.
But behind that veil of glamor and fame is a woman with regrets.
On the Chinese talk show The Real One <舉杯呵呵喝>, Gillian shared her inner thoughts about joining the industry and what inspired her to do so. She confessed that she only had one reason to join the entertainment industry—to earn money.
“I never thought about becoming a celebrity,” she said. “I joined because I wanted to take care of my family. I wanted to give them a better life.” Gillian actually doesn’t think she has the personality to be a famous star, explaining, “I didn’t know how to behave. I didn’t know how to express myself. I just didn’t know how to talk to other people. I was like this my entire life—I had more girls in my family than guys, so I didn’t know how to interact with other boys when I first joined the industry. I was scared to talk to them. People would think I’m shy, and maybe that’s because of the environment I grew up in.”
Even after 18 years of experience behind her back, Gillian said she still felt regret. If she was given the opportunity to go back 20 years, she said she would be willing to let go of everything to start over again. “I want to grow up again. I didn’t really feel like I had a youth. I want to go back and have a happy childhood.”
During the days when Gillian was most active as a member of Twins, the media would always compare her to her Twins partner Charlene Choi (蔡卓妍). While Charlene would be praised for having the higher IQ and EQ of the two, Gillian only had one praise attached to her name—pretty.
“So what if I have low EQ?” said Gillian. “That is who I am. You can call me stupid or dumb, but that is who I am.” She believes that a reason why Twins worked so well was because she and Charlene balanced well. “Ah Sa is in charge of expression, while I am in charge of action.”
Having regrets is a natural course in everyone’s lives, including Gillian’s. When speaking about her biggest regret, she said, “There is one man who I miss the most. That is my grandfather. I loved him. At the time, he lived very far away from me. I wouldn’t know if he had a doctor’s appointment, or even if he got in an accident. When I found out afterward, I felt really hurt. I didn’t have the time to spend with him. I really regret not spending more time with him.”
Source: HK01.com
This article is written by Addy for JayneStars.com.
i recall anita mui talked about the same thing – missing out on the normal life. once you get famous, you can never turn back but the good big is, both of them are able to make it big
@m0m0 Anita Mui was different. She was doing this since she was a kid, she had to earn money for her family by performing. She was a kid who had no choice but a big talent and when she grew up she didn’t know what else to do but continue on.
Legendary pop duo is an overstatement for frankly 2 talentless girls who really struck gold by being the luckiest person in the world. Of course they worked hard, but neither could act/sing/dance/handle gossips and scandals decently. Between the 2, Charlene fared better but not much better. Gillian has been through rough patches, much of her own undoing and here she is again speaking of regrets but to me sounds like she is complaining like she did in the past when she said she wanted to kill herself after that scandal. Which she didn’t. She also insulted her fans in the past with her callous statement, which I believe was unintended and seen as honesty when frankly I see as someone not doing good PR work in coaching her. Frankly if she is so unhappy, and she has missed out her childhood or teenagehood, there’s still adulthood and motherhood. She can quit and I won’t miss her.
Yes I do not like her. She has a right to voice her pain and hurt and regret but this time she has again insulted her fans who stood by her.
@funnlim uhm that’s a bit harsh. One might want to end one’s life, but not following it through is not going back on their words??? Do you want her to end her life?
Also can you please explain how did she insult her fans this time? I might have missed something?
Anyway, based on this article, I like her for not minding her flaws “so what if I’m dumb, that’s who I am”. That’s a positive thing that one can have to combat all the negativity in this world. Also why she and Charlene are still best friends despite constantly being compared to one another.
I agree though that she can’t dance, or act or sing, part of it is she’s too shy, she just doesn’t have that personality to be the shining celebrity.
@funnlim
“in the past when she said she wanted to kill herself after that scandal. Which she didn’t.”
Wow. Take several seats please.
What are you trying to say here? That she should’ve gone through with killing herself? Or that she didn’t so she shouldn’t even talk about suicidal thoughts? No wonder mental health is still such a big taboo in Asia.
I’m sorry that the existence of some pop star offended you so much that you can make such a vile statement. The irony here is that YOU called HER callous and insulting?
It is always easier to look in hindsight. If we all know the future we will make little errors or less regrets. She is fine now. Make the best of the future.
Talking about Anita Moi, I find it so sad every time I watch her last concert. She said she could have got married but refused to. At least Gillian now have a husband to live. Whether it lasts forever is another story. Better to love than not at all?
“I just didn’t know how to talk to other people. I was like this my entire life—I had more girls in my family than guys, so I didn’t know how to interact with other boys when I first joined the industry. I was scared to talk to them.”
……but she has no problems being filmed while being f**ked? That’s really some logic there, huh? *rolls eyes*
@rika Uhm, she is doing it with someone she loves? No need to talk, and if Jlaw goes unscathed because her opinion is that she’s doing it for the man she loves, why do we condemn Gillian so much?
As a matter of fact, shy girls are easier to coerce into doing something they don’t like.
@rika oh pls don’t be so harsh. It has nothing to do with her personality and her xxx clip??? Its super normal if u sleep with the man you love and filmed it. The one who shared it to public completely deserved the criticism not Gillian.
@rika Yes you are right, shy people are too shy to have sex and shy people are too shy to ever take intimate pictures with their partner, in fact shy people are too shy to even exist. No shy person will ever warm up to another human being even their significant others that’s why they are all virgins till death. Tony Leung is a shy person that’s why he never made a movie with a sex scene before. Logic.
@peanutbutterjelly xD your post is gold! How dare shy people exist xD
@peanutbutterjelly You are all absolutely correct. I should not have judged that shy people would not take provocative photos.
What I should have written was “she is f**king stupid to let that get taken and damaged her career”. Better?
@rika You are blaming the victim. It may not have been a decision that you or I would have done, but it isn’t her fault that those images were stolen and distributed. This outrage should be placed on the thieves that mentally raped all those who had their privacy violated.
@rika
Having sex is not a crime neither are taking provocative pictures or videos. Or am I missing something here? What is the problem exactly? Enlighten me please.
I guess you think Tang Wei is f**king stupid for doing an award winning movie with an Oscar-winning director that ultimately got herself banned from working in mainland China? If you don’t then you’re a hypocrite.
What IS f**king stupid is shaming people’s individual choices that are neither evil nor unethical instead of the irrational public reaction and victim blaming.
The fact that this can ‘damage one’s career’ says more about the stupidity of our society and culture than about her intelligence.
I don’t see Tony Leung’s career burn up in flames after “Lust, Caution” so why should any victim of leaked nudes be scrutinized by people like you? I guess sex and nudity is only okay for you when it’s made to be consumed by the public and not when it’s supposed to be private between two people? Logic.
There is no need to regret, u can choose to quit being a celeb now and go for early retirement and start a family, since u are already married.
Seriously Twins is over-rated. In acting wise they are okay, but their singing and dancing need lots of improvement. So they are really lucky to be A-listers and even land themselves their own wax figures in HK madam tussaud.
@hayden exactly my thought.. if she never became a celebrity I don’t think anyone knows who she is from today she should thank god for making her famous instead saying regrets. Like you said she’s now married can open up her own business too I’m sure she’s got the money for it plus her husband is rich too and she can takes off whenever she wants to right? What about those scandals pictures? Why don’t she mention saying oh I’m regret about taking those nude photos with Edison right?
@cutie777 You can have regrets and still be thankful? Those things are not mutually exclusive? She didn’t sound ungrateful in the article why are you people being so mean?
And maybe she didn’t regret the pictures, why should she? She didn’t do anything wrong. Neither did Edison (except for being exceptionally stupid but not everyone has a high IQ) for that matter.
Legendary? Please STOP! We all know these 2 can’t sing nor act. Don’t know how they got so successful honestly.
I don’t like any of them but I dislike ah Sa so much more. Yes that girl is really smart but I hate the way she talks. She talks like she’s slow and innocent but she’s actually not anywhere close to innocent that’s why she always strikes me as fake and pretentious. When she was younger I thought it’s because…well, she’s young and “deh”. But she still talks like that now. It’s annoying. She also seems very mean and petty.
For Ah Gil, seriously just retire already girl.
I’m pretty sure these 2 don’t like each other secretly. It’s all for show and business.
@kaykay408 LOL…I agree completely. haha Lol…But then again both of them talk like that but Ah Sa u r right Ah Sa can be a tiny bit more annoying. haha….I can NEVER understand how/why they became so popular. Acting wise never watch much HK movies and they never do TV so I wouldn’t know about their acting skills but singing voice? Lord!!! haha Luck is definitely on their side.
@wm2017 They are just idols; not talents. The only reason why they were popular back then was because they “exhibited the typical school girls” aura which appealed to male otaku-like fans. It’s like Japan’s AKB48 and Morning Musume.
Also don’t forget, Twins had Albert Yeung as their boss. His influence was enough to get them as much spotlight as possible.
Just because you think Gillian is talentless and undeserving of a place in the industry doesn’t mean she should retire if she had regrets or should live in shame forever. Some people can’t wait to jump on her for something that happened a decade ago and what does being shy have anything to do with those photos? She’s shy towards strangers but is comfortable with a boyfriend she was intimate with. You have to be able to distinguish the two. She took private photos, not for an exhibition. Gillian is flesh and bones and still a human with emotions the last time I checked. Show business, fame, and fortune can ruin and corrupt even the smartest and most stable people, so I can’t imagine how hard it must have been for Gillian, who entered the industry already broken.
It’s luck. The most popular artists or celebrities aren’t the most talented and vice versa. The prettiest and most handsome people aren’t always leads. Why do we still have to have a definite reason for everything?
She doesn’t sound unhappy. She’s just sharing her regrets and life experiences. Even the most perfect person has regrets, so why can’t she? Pornstars have regrets and I don’t blame them. Why? Because we make stupid decisions when we’re young. We make mistakes, blunders, and struggle through life. That’s how we learn, grow up, and mature, enough to know what we did, how we thought, how we lived our lives a certain way in the past was wrong and we now have regrets. It’s a part of life. Even if our choices weren’t wrong but we’re constantly changing everyday, with the information we have today, we may not make the same decision we did even a year ago. Thus, I don’t understand this whole logic of demanding Gillian to retire when she still has a family to feed?! You have to give her some credit even if you don’t like her that she’s a good daughter. She has been the bread maker ever since her teens and will continue to. Her family’s well being is most important. Sure, she’s not talented in acting, dancing, or singing, but she’s happy doing what she loves, gets a hefty paycheck, and has had an opportunity to move forward with her life when it could have ended tragically. She still has fans who support her and love her for who she is, so why quit for the few voices that don’t matter anyway? Who said that the industry is only full of talented and deserving people? Would you quit your high paying job you love just because a few people didn’t see you fit? No, you’ll keep trying, so why can’t Gillian? Who made up the rules? If some of us can bear through jobs we hate just to make ends meet then why would Gillian ever quit a job she loves when she has a family to provide for just like the rest of us? Being a celebrity is her job. She gets paid to work, without work, who is going to pay the bills? Take away her celebrity status, she’s still just a normal girl in a big world trying to fit in and take care of her loved ones.
I can’t understand the people on here complaining how she didn’t commit suicide? Why? So she can prove to you and those who want to see her fail anyway that she was serious and truly sorry for those photos? It sounds like a form jealousy. What does her success or failure in the industry have anything to do with us? If you don’t like her songs, movies, projects, and anything she’s in, then avoid them. So what if she’s married? A woman has to depend on herself. A husband doesn’t make your problems go away. You have to still grow as a person, individually. A lot of celebrities share similar stories, so I don’t see anything wrong with Gillian’s. The lack of sympathy towards Gillian is sad. She didn’t have a normal teenage life or a life at all when she entered the industry. She was being watched, being groomed, overworked, and never had time for anything or anyone like her Grandpa. You gotta admit, Twins were a hit, so they were overworked like cash cows. It’s only normal that she would reflect back and wish she had just lived a normal life for once. She’s not taking the life she has now for granted, but sometimes, we just wished we lived our lives differently. Everyone is for themselves in the end. She has to collect all of the golden opportunities while she still can. One day, this moment will pass and she’ll naturally retire. Just let her be.
@lynn90 i like you a lot 🙂 always so logical and reasonable 🙂 and totally agree with you on every point 🙂
@lynn90 This is a quality and classy post. Thanks for allowing me to read this and cleanse my soul after all previous comments on this article.
A few thoughts on Gillian Chung:
Twins was way past my time but I still remember at the peak of their popularity you can’t walk the streets of Hong Kong without seeing these two fresh faced teenage girls in magazines, billboards, TV or hear their songs in shopping malls (they all sound alike too). Annoying but impressive to say the least. They really took the Hong Kong Entertainment industry by storm those and I have yet to see a pop group to rival their iconic phenomenon.
As part of an EEG money tree, it’s almost impossble without building up some regrets and sacrifices along the way. She’s simply expressing them here. Doens’t sound like complaining to me. She seems like an awkward and blunt person, not really the personality that you expect from a celebrity but then again here she is. I have no real opinions on her works as I’m not too familiar with them except that I really like a few movies she’s in and thought she did well in them.
And because for some reason people still love to bring up the photo ‘scandal’, my opinion on that is the same as it was a decade ago: 1) Not even that scandalous 2) I feel sorry for all parties involved but they shouldn’t be made to feel ashamed of anything 3) why do people care so much all your parents have had sex too 4) this Edison guy is really stupid and should learn a thing or two about computers but I feel sorry for him too.
they’re idols – pretty faces making it in an industry by selling their aesthetics. I didn’t understand that back then, but now I do. it’s like Angelababy. her only appeal is her “model-esque” looks. they all filled a niche that was missing in the biz and blew up.
I don’t have any particular feelings for Gillian, but I’m happy she’s found happiness in spite of everything. does she really deserve the money/clout/personality she has? that’s debatable. but she’s allowed to remain relevant because people want her to be relevant. she can exist in the same space as other icons because the fans put her there.
@coralie Good point. It’s simply supply and demand.
I compare some of the comments here to people who hate ice cream: they say it’s unhealthy and doesn’t have any nutritional value and ask why stores are selling it, why is it so popular?
Because other people like ice cream. Simple as that. Your taste doesn’t dictate others.
I don’t eat ice cream but I understand why other people, especially kids who grew up with it, like it and don’t have a personal vendetta against it or demand it to be taken out of stores.
Her privacy was violated in the most horrible and humiliating way. Knowing that so many men were drooling and jerking off to nude images of her with out her consent is enough to send anyone into depression and having foolish thoughts of self harm. It may not be physical rape, but definitely mental rape, and unfortunately, the public will never let this trauma go.
Being a celebrity can be exhilarating but having to seek constant approval is suffocating. I understand why she would have regrets and it is so tragic that the public places such unreasonable pressure on these stars to be perfect.
Don’t care one bit about Gillian’s personal life. We can all debate until we’re blue in the face whether Twins “deserved” their fame / money / popularity or not (I personally feel they are overrated — neither can sing or act and mostly got lucky with the idol thing as well as having a boss/company that could make you famous regardless of whether you have talent or not) — but it’s ridiculous to say that she shouldn’t be allowed to have regrets in life like every other human being on the planet (whether celebrity or not) will undoubtedly have. It’s normal to have regrets in life — has nothing to do with whether what you experienced was “deserving” or not.
The problem I have is with the way the above article was translated. I read the original in Chinese and no where in the article does it use the word “legendary” to describe Twins, so not sure why the translation has that word. I’m actually more upset with the use of that word in an inappropriate manner (sorry but since when is Twins considered “legendary” — are we talking about the same entertainment industry here??) than I am of the contents in the article and what Gillian said or didn’t say. But that’s just me and my pet peeves….