Nathan Ngai Let Go from TVB Amid Sexual Harassment Accusations

The Hippocratic Crush <On Call 36小時> star Nathan Ngai (魏焌皓) has been let go by TVB, and rumor has it that his contract termination had something to do with his Line Walker: The Prelude <使徒行者2> costar, Louisa Mak (麥明詩).

Louisa Mak is one of the pioneers of Hong Kong’s #MeToo movement, and the 2016 Miss Hong Kong winner even bravely shared her experience of being sexually assaulted when she was a teen. According to a rumor, Nathan forced himself upon Louisa while they were doing some location shots in China for the TVB drama Line Walker: The Prelude, forcibly kissing her without her consent. Louisa the complained to TVB executives about Nathan’s inappropriate behavior, which was the catalyst for TVB to drop him a year before his contract was to terminate.

According to a source, Nathan repeatedly tried to ask Louisa on a date, even after Louisa’s rejections. During filming, Louisa made sure to have her costars Benjamin Yuen (袁偉豪) and Priscilla Wong (黃翠如) as shields to keep her company, so she wouldn’t be alone with Nathan.

This isn’t the first time that Nathan made the news for his allegedly inappropriate behavior around women. Rumor has it that Nathan is a known flirt among the entertainment circle, and many TVB actresses have complained about him.

In regards to Louisa’s claims, Nathan said in a phone interview, “I’ve never heard of this! I’m so confused. (Is it true that you tried to kiss and pursue Louisa Mak?) Of course not! I don’t know why these rumors came to be. I did send her a text message earlier to ask what’s going on. None of it is true. I hope those rumors didn’t really come from her mouth! I hope we will all continue to respect each other.” Nathan added that Louisa never responded to him.

Pointing out that Nathan’s image would most likely be affected by this rumor, he said, “I haven’t thought too much about it. I just want to be an actor. I don’t want to cause any trouble.” Asking if it’s true that TVB has terminated his contract a year in advance, Nathan confirmed that they did, and that he had left the station a few weeks ago. As for why, Nathan said, “I don’t know! They didn’t tell me why.”

Attending an event for a new TVB program yesterday, Louisa was asked by reporters to comment on the sexual harassment allegations against Nathan. She said, “I have been keeping up with these reports. First, our company’s artists have been notified that we should not comment very much on it. Second, because the report has mentioned names, I don’t think it’s suitable for me to offer any further comments. I don’t want my comments to be twisted in a way where it would make room for more unfounded speculation. It’s unfair to everyone. But I do want to say is this—this is a serious problem that affects many girls. Girls should not be embarrassed about speaking out. Also, even if you want to speak out, you can’t do it in a way where the other party gets affected because only one side of the story is heard. That declares guilty before trial. But it’s definitely hard to achieve that balance.”

Asking if she had a good collaboration with Nathan, Louisa said she had fun working with the Line Walker team in general, and added that many viewers did enjoy watching her scenes with Nathan. She has heard about Nathan’s leave from TVB, but explained that many artists eventually part ways with TVB anyways to tackle new obstacles. “I wish him the best of luck,” she said.

TVB executive Virginia Lok (樂易玲) chose not to comment on the issue. Louisa’s costar Benjamin Yuen was also asked to comment. He said, “I really didn’t feel like Louisa was using me and Priscilla as shields. I also didn’t see anything strange between [Louisa and Nathan].”

Source: On.cc

This article is written by Addy for JayneStars.com.