Rose Chan and Joe Ma Avoid Each Other to Prevent Awkwardness
Above: Joe Ma and wife Karen Chan almost had a chance encounter with Rose Chan.
Rose Chan (陳嘉桓) and Joe Ma (馬德鐘), who were involved in a shocking “sexual harassment” incident two years ago, appeared at the same promotional function on December 3. The two luckily avoided a potentially awkward meeting due to quick thinking from event host Real Ting (丁子高).
“Sexual Harassment” Incident Two Years Ago
In November 2011, nineteen-year-old Rose was in Hengdian, China filming Wong Jing‘s (王晶) comedy Princess and Seven KungFu Masters <笑功震武林>. At the end of a work day, she and co-star Timmy Hung (洪天明) joined Benny Chan (陳浩民), Joe Ma, and several crew members for a late night meal at a local Chinese barbecue shop. After a few rounds of drinking, Benny began to teasingly grope Rose and kissed her forcibly. Joe was also photographed seemingly kisssing Rose. The distraught actress revealed the incident to her team and was summoned back to Hong Kong the very next day.
Although Benny and Joe angrily denied the harassment claims, photographic proof was leaked soon after. Rose decided to file a report with the Hong Kong Police, and Benny held a press conference during which he apologized and bowed down repeatedly while breaking down in tears.
Joe on the other hand, sought help from TVB executive Virginia Lok (樂 易玲) and was able to clear his name due to a lack of solid evidence. Despite this, the public still associates the incident with him and blamed him for not coming to Rose’s aid.
However, later photos showed a smiling Rose at the barbecue restaurant, indicating that perhaps she was a willing participant in the groping games.
Joe Will Avoid Rose in Future
With such an unpleasant history in their past, it is surprising to see the two appearing at the same event. Rose arrived at the promotional luncheon and immediately had to field questions about Joe’s appearance. Rose seems to have moved on from the humiliating incident, and calmly responded that the situation is unavoidable since both parties are active in the entertainment industry. She also treats her past as a valuable lesson, saying, “Every time after an unhappy incident I would always reflect on what I should’ve done so I will know what to do in the future. I will not do anything unnecessary anymore.”
Joe and his wife Karen Cheung (張筱蘭) arrived at the event just as Rose was addressing the press. Event host Real Ting quickly pulled Joe and Karen aside and directed them towards a secret entryway, effectively avoiding direct confrontation with Rose and the reporters. Real explained that Joe was only there as his wife’s personal guest, and that he will not speak to the media as it is inappropriate for a TVB artist to be interviewed at non-company events without permission.
Joe later emphasized once again that he attended the function strictly out of his personal, free will, adding that he was unaware of Rose’s presence and will not take any extra precautions to avoid running into her in the future.
Source: Oriental Daily
This article is written by Katrine for JayneStars.com.
when i saw the pics of the past incident, i find joe ma to not be at any fault. he wasn’t even in the position of a good Samaritan since Rose did not express any desire to not engage in the groping behavior.
poor joe, the press needs to move on from this. he didn’t do anything wrong!
pandamao,
After the smiling photos of Rose at the barbecue restaurant emerged, she was let off the hook by the Hong Kong press quite easily. Aside from Oriental Sunday’s publications of the photos, other tabloids did not blast her for being a hypocrite in playing the innocent card. Even now, the press refers to the event as an “embarrassing incident” or “unhappy incident”.
She may not have been innocent but should she have fled in a flood of tears before she is considered in distress? The pictures said a lot. She may have enjoyed joe’s embraces and what nots but she didn’t like what Benny did to her. That smiling picture may be a reflection of a one second reaction, she may have been hypocrite but Benny certainly. Crossed the line. And joe didn’t look too stressed about it.
Yes he did. He did not help a girl clearly in distress. Not doing anything is as much fault as doing something.
Surely, the usual a glass of water into the guy’s face said get off me? An that is enough to signal your unwillingness, you don’t need to run off crying. But surely you can do something to show your are not happy >_> you can be critical of joe, but don’t be so favouritism with the girl, she could just do this for fame >_> continually blame joe without putting doubt on her is just hypocrit
Clearly we interpreted the pictures differently. Joe Ma is not a worm in rose’s tummy – he’s not going to know what’s wrong until rose says no. She remained at the scene despite her discomfort? I find her guilty partionship make joe unable to determine whether stepping in was warranted.
I agree with Funn. Additionally a young starlet like Rose then was, would be at a disadvantage if she made too much “noise” for fear of offending the veterans
He has a wife though.
Did anyone else laugh the host’s English name?
“Real Ting” sounds more like broken Chinese English than a real name. These Hong Kong people have some of the weirdest English names, considering the fact they were under British rule for quite some time.
If you think “Real Ting” is weird, you should see some of the other bizarre english names that are adopted by some Chinese in HK, Taiwan and China. These names pop up on this site all the time. I’m waiting for Jam Hsiao and Fruit Chan to collaborate with someone named Apple.
There is already a Taiwanese singer/actress with the name Apple already.
It is not just the name that is funny.
Placed it together with surname sounds like ‘ Real thing’.
I was at Raymond Lam’s concert in Connecticut last week and there was a female backup dancer with the English name Egg.
And her sister was there too..? i think her name is Tart
This Real Ting is not Miriam’s husband right?