Chinese Canadian megastar Kris Wu sentenced to 13 years for rape

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Kris Wu, actor and musician formerly part of Chinese-Korean pop band Exo, has been sentenced to 13 years behind bars by a Chinese court.

Wu, who grew up in China and Vancouver, is known worldwide for his role in the Hollywood film XXX: Return of Xander Cage. He has also been in the star-studded cast of some of China’s highest-grossing films.

He was sentenced on Friday in a Beijing court in the presence of Canadian embassy officials.

The 32-year-old, whose real name is Wu Yi Fan, was detained by Beijing police last year in July on rape charges, following allegations made by beauty influencer Du Meizhu.

Meizhu alleged that when she was 17, Wu date-raped her while she was under the influence of alcohol. She also said she wasn’t his only victim, and that the rapper had sexually assaulted others, too, including two minors. It should be noted that as per Chinese law, the age of consent is 14.

Wu denied the charges and Meizhu was accused by his fans of making up the story in order to gain fame. Several brands that collaborated with him — including Louis Vuitton and Bvlgari — cut ties with him immediately after the allegations.

Now, it appears Meizhu was right about not only her own assault but also the fact that Wu had victimized other women. Court statements at the sentencing also note that Wu had raped three women in 2020 while they were drunk.

And that isn’t a final list of Wu’s offences — those are just the sex crimes. He was also fined over CAD 111 million by Beijing’s municipal taxation department on Friday.

Wu will be deported back to Canada once his sentence is complete.

The K-pop community has been abuzz online since Wu’s verdict. While some are defending the rapist, most have condemned him completely and are speaking in support of his victims.

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