Chinese entertainment: What's wrong with actresses wanting to improve?

Chapter 572 Escalating Further

Lin Wei picked up her phone and dialed Pan Yueming's number again.

The phone rang six times before it was answered.

The background noise from Pan Yueming's side was still from the film set, and he could vaguely hear someone calling the production assistant's name.

"Sister Lin."

Pan Yueming's voice was much hoarseer than yesterday, as if he had smoked a lot.

"Old Pan, I have a question for you."

Dong Bailian issued a statement saying that you gamble, are in debt, and neglect your family.

Are these allegations true or false?

There was a three- or four-second silence on the other end of the phone.

"Sister Lin, those casino photos are from my previous film crew."

I don't know who took the picture.

Everyone in the same group can testify.

"What about the others?"

What about the accusations of domestic violence, debt, and neglect of children?

"None of them."

I've always been the one paying for household expenses, and every transaction in the joint account has a record.

Dingding's tuition, extracurricular class fees, and the nanny's salary were all directly deposited into my account.

As for domestic violence, I, Pan Yueming, have never laid a finger on a woman in my entire life.

"Old Pan, tell me the truth."

Between you and Dong Bailian, is there anything you know about her but haven't told you?

She's clearly trying to kill you.

Pan Yueming remained silent for several seconds.

"Sister Lin, let's leave it at that."

Pan Yueming's voice suddenly sounded very tired.

"No matter what she did, Dingding is still young."

Lin Wei held the phone, her lips pressed into a thin line.

Having been in the entertainment industry for so many years, she has seen too many cases of celebrities throwing mud at each other during marital breakdowns, but she has rarely seen anyone like Pan Yueming.

Even though they had leverage over the other party, they chose to remain silent for the sake of their child.

"Okay, I understand."

"You can focus on filming; I'll handle things at the company."

After hanging up the phone, Lin Wei looked at Fang Yan.

"Initiate the highest level of crisis communication procedures."

First, issue an official statement in the company's name, refuting Dong Bailian's accusations point by point.

Second, involve the Ministry of Justice to collect information on all accounts involved in spreading rumors and prepare for prosecution.

Third, contact Weibo to limit the reach of accounts that clearly show signs of manipulation by paid online trolls.

"clear."

At 1 p.m., the official Weibo accounts of Chenxi Media and Chenxi Artist Management Company simultaneously released formal statements.

The statement, less than 800 words in length, was written in a restrained yet firm tone.

The statement directly pointed out that Dong Bailian's statement contained "serious inaccuracies," refuting each of the four accusations: gambling, debt, domestic violence, and neglect of her family.

After the statement was released, there was a brief pause in public discourse.

But soon voices supporting Dong Bailian rang out again.

Her on-screen image was so positive, and coupled with the information gap created at the beginning of the statement's release, many people still chose to believe the woman after seeing Chenxi's statement.

"How could such a good woman like Dong Bailian issue such a statement for no reason? She must have been pushed to the limit!"

"A company as big as Morning Light Media naturally has strong public relations capabilities; they can even turn black into white!"

.........

Fang Yan looked at the data report in the background, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper.

Both Chenxi's side and Weibo are trying to control the comments, but the momentum of public opinion has not only not diminished, but has instead intensified.

On the morning of October 22, the situation escalated further.

A group of netizens began to direct their criticism at Chenxi Media itself.

An entertainment commentator with 500,000 followers posted a long Weibo post.

As the ancients said, "One who is near vermilion gets stained red, and one who is near ink gets stained black."

Pan Yueming has been with Chenxi for so many years. If his character is really as bad as Dong Bailian said, then how could the artists in the same company who have been with him day and night not know anything about it?

If they know but remain silent, what is their attitude?

If they don't know, then where is Chenxi's ability to manage its artists?

This Weibo post is full of flaws upon closer examination, but no one on the internet seems to be scrutinizing it carefully.

What netizens need is a new target to vent their anger, and this blogger just happens to provide one.

In less than half a day, the attack target expanded from Pan Yueming personally to the entire Chenxi Media.

Deng Chao's Weibo comment section was flooded with sarcastic and sarcastic messages.

"Brother Chao, you and Pan Yueming are such good friends, didn't you know about his gambling?"

"Birds of a feather flock together; people are grouped by their kind." This is a chilling thought.

Huang Bo's Weibo account also suffered.

"Brother Bo, you don't have any secrets you haven't revealed yet, do you?"

"In a place like the entertainment industry, only a minority can be truly clean."

Wang Baoqiang, Huang Xiaoming, Chen Xiao, Bai Yu, Zhu Yilong—similar comments appeared in the comment section for all male artists under Chenxi Entertainment.

Although the absolute number of these comments is not as large as the number of comments in Pan Yueming's comment section, they are more targeted and aggressive.

Even more critically, some people began to point the finger at Fu Yibai.