Coco Lee Was Mistreated on “Sing! China”
Exposing Chinese reality singing show Sing! China <中國好聲音> for its unfair rules and mistreatment, an audio clip by pop diva Coco Lee (李玟) surfaced, as netizens dig up further details on what transpired.
In the 9-minute viral clip, the late singer, who died of suicide on July 5, ranted emotionally about how despite having 28 years of entertainment experience, she was subjected to bullying and shaming on stage by production crew of the hit reality show, which she took part in as one of its coaches in 2022. She also mentioned that her body had “suffered irretrievably” as a result.
Targeted for Voicing Out On Unfair System
Following the audio recording, a netizen who claimed to have been involved in the recording of the show then came forward with more details, sharing “8 hours of continuous filming, (they) did not even have a drop of water nor a bit of food, Coco merely lowered her head and bit into a banana, and immediately director Liu Li (柳驪) lashed out at her, ‘What are you eating? Don’t you know we are adjusting the lights?’ Coco’s eyes turned red at that instant,”
Allegedly mistreated because she had voiced her unhappiness on the show’s unfair regulations, Coco shared that the crew threatened to have security guards remove her forcibly from stage. On the last episode of Sing! China, Coco and her mentee were scheduled to perform a duet of “Unbreakable Love” (永不失聯的愛). Due to her leg injury, the late singer had told her mentee Wang Ze Peng (泽鹏) that she was unable to stand for a long time on her own, and requested that he support her on stage as they sang, which they did during the rehearsal.
Production Crew Alleges Audio Clip Had Been Tampered
However, the crew cued for Ze Peng to walk away from Coco during the actual performance. With 7-inch heels on, and nothing for support, Coco stumbled and fell to her knees right on stage. Despite the pain, the ever-professional pop diva continued with her performance. The camera then zoomed to just her upper body so viewers would be ignorant that she had suffered a fall, although astute viewers spotted a lady in pink who came forward and attempted to help Coco to her feet.
The said netizen revealed that this was Malaysian singer Fish Leung (梁靜茹), another celebrity coach on the show, who quickly rushed onstage to Coco’s aid, but was instead chastised by the director. Crew members then went onstage to pull Fish away, leaving Coco by herself. Later footage of the show showed Fish looking teary-eyed, as netizens believed the singer felt sorry for Coco’s plight.
Responding to the uproar following the exposed voice recording, Sing! China swiftly alleged on their Weibo page that the audio recording had been maliciously tampered with, claimed that disagreements between Coco and the team had already been resolved, and added that it would no longer comment further, out of respect for the deceased.
However, this failed to appease the mounting fury of fans. Veteran HK singer Jenny Tseng (甄妮), an old friend of Coco who had delivered an eulogy at her wake, had harsh words for Sing! China, revealing she had previously advised Coco not to take on these kinds of “trashy shows” and to focus on resting well instead.
Source: ETToday
I read about this and was very surprised in her account of event. It did make me feel bad for her but I did feel she was over dramatic…
To appear in the show is her choice, she took the job regardless how ill she was and still insist on wearing high heels to look good whilst the heels are killing her with pain.
I too believe there is lots of background tactics to manoeuvre the competitors… this happens in every Country. There is no clean and untainted Singing competitions of such scale, even in Europe/US/South Korea etc. I feel there are huge communication breakdown between her and the producers. The situation could have been dealt with better… She had been in the industry long enough to know the industry games…
Of course if she was manhandled, then those involved are wrong. To mistreat someone unwell and not able is just unacceptable. Someone need to answer to that. And if she was threatened, again that is very wrong of the producers. No one should be force to do wrong against their will. I hope some actions are taken against those that mistreated her.
But her sense of martyrdom does seem over dramatic… as the show is not responsible for her decision to sign the contract to be on the show in spite of her failing health. She cannot hold the PDs at fault. As she has responsibilities to be in good health to herself, the contract she signed, the show and the singers under her care. She should have just left the show if she could not cope physically.
I do feel for her weak mental state of mind. And to expose herself in front of millions is really not wise. But one need to see analyse the situation sensibly and practically instead of just listening to only her account of events.
On a personal note, it is very obvious her failing health physically and mentally was rapidly going down. I feel like crying for her health and her choice to take her own life.
Well said.
If all in the article is true, the production crew was definitely at fault but she was responsible as well. Even if she had signed on to be in the show and was ill later, she could have just bowed out. It wasn’t as if she couldn’t afford the financial penalty and she would have her PR team to handle any backlash. And her heels, that was even more so her decision. I remember one contestant in the earlier season was seated during performance because of injury, no one would fault her if she could at least wear flats. And where was her sibling manager when all these happened.
That being said, this is not the first time with “leaks” on her happiness with this particular programme. Eason was rumoured to refuse to sign on for another season because he was pleased with it as well (can’t remember the reason).
I really suspect Eason may not be the only one too… as you can see quite afew of the highly reputable judge did not last in the show…they did not return to other seasons. that says alot of this show.
Her mentee was getting eliminated even though he had a higher score than the other person who made it in. She felt the rules are unfair and spoke up. Was she a bit dramatic, maybe? It just seemed like she genuinely cared, so I don’t fault her for it. Yes, she chose to wear those heels, but she also expected her mentee to be next to her, and it was rehearsed that way. To cue the person away from her knowing her during the live performance, knowing she had health issues, just feels wrong on so many levels to me. Zhejiang Media Group is the same channel that had the celebrity sports competition where Godfrey Gao died. I do not trust anything they say.
Trash ccp mainlander show…RIP Coco Lee.