Li Yifeng Dropped From 13 Endorsements
After news broke that 35-year-old actor Evan Li Yifeng (李易峰) is detained by Chinese police for soliciting sex services, he was immediately dropped by all of his 13 endorsements with major global brands. His dramas have been removed from streaming sites, and over 300,000 fans unfollowed his social media account within one day of the scandal’s exposure.
According to media sources, brands released statements intending to terminate their partnerships. One of the endorsers, Liepin App, pointed out that the endorsement contract with Yifeng had expired on July 3, while Budweiser and L’oreal Paris have apparently deleted all of his related posts on Weibo. Other brands, King To Nin Jiom, Panerai, Prada, Rémy Martin, Lukfook Jewelry, Honma Golf, and Sensodyne, have ended their collaboration with Yifeng as well.
How Much Will Li Yifeng Have to Compensate?
Lawyer Zhang Zhonghui (張中輝) from Sino-Integrity Law Firm expressed that artistes who are arrested for soliciting sex services can have their endorsement contracts terminated because of the negative impact on brands. The amount of compensation should also be stipulated beforehand, but if there is no such clause, then both parties would need to abide by the relevant laws and regulations.
The amount of compensation for the business losses should be equivalent to the losses caused by an artiste’s breach of contract, including the endorsement profits.
Yifeng’s Net Worth
Based on public information, Yifeng has reached an annual income of as high as 69 million Chinese yuan when he ranked ninth on the 2015 Forbes China Celebrity List. Although he later dropped to 43rd in 2020 and there was no income data reported, the actor still received a relatively high income with his popularity and large fanbase.
National Enterprise Credit Information Check App Tianyan Cha also showed that Yifeng owns seven companies, in which four of them are still operating as normal including Shanghai Fengyan Cultural Media Center, Shanghai Fenglu Cultural Media Center, Shanghai Li Yifeng Film and Television Culture Studio, and Dongyang Hengdian Li Yifeng Film and Television Studio. He had shut down the remaining three companies this year.
Source: HK01
This article is written by Minna for JayneStars.com.
Li Yifeng Detained By Chinese Authorities for Soliciting Prostitution
He will still have a comfortable live ahead as long as he is careful with future investments.
Might as well get a trusted fan or “friends with benefit” since soliciting prostitutes is illegal in China
Lol that’s what I thought too. But nobody can be trusted to be just fwb. Whereas if you pay someone, that’s a different story. It makes me wonder why he says he likes women who are usually single mothers. They have liabilities and therefore less likely to say something?
Frankly, using trusted fans is more common then we think… I remember reading about the short story that was rumoured in connection with Yang Yang by one of his fans of being used in this manner…of course, the story has since been removed as it got heated as many guess the actor was Yang Yang with all her hints.
regardless how true or false, I do believe such practise is really not uncommon…