Aug 1, 2021: Police in China said they have detained a 30-year-old Canadian man named Kris Wu on suspicion of committing rape.

Chris Wu’s detention on Saturday came after a 19-year-old student accused the singer of date-raping her when she was 17.

The claim prompted widespread condemnation of Kris Wu on Chinese social media and resulted in several luxury brands dropping deals with him. The 30-year-old star denies the claims. At least a dozen brands including Porsche and Bvlgari had cut ties with Wu after the accusation, which have caused a social media storm in China.

Wu was being investigated over accusations made online of “tricking young girls into having sex with him,” according to a statement by police in the Chaoyang district of the Chinese capital Beijing late on Saturday.

Kris Wu has previously denied the accusation and was not immediately contactable on Sunday.

Wu’s studio did not immediately respond to a request for comment. His law firm did not answer calls. The Canadian embassy in Beijing did not immediately respond to an e-mailed request for comment.

Kris Wu made his Hollywood debut in the 2017 sci-fi film “XXX: Return of Xander Cage” and was previously a member of K-pop group EXO.

News of Kris Wu’s detention was trending as the most searched topic on Weibo on Saturday night, and some users online started commenting on Wu’s social media account, telling him to “get out of China”.

Chinese state media have indicated that Wu’s celebrity status and foreign citizenship are unlikely to help his case. “Foreign nationality is not a talisman, no matter how famous he is, there is no immunity. Whoever breaks the law will be punished by law,” said the Communist Party-owned People’s Daily on a social media posting on Saturday evening that referred to the case.

The teenager publicised her accusations against him on social media last month and later in an interview with the internet portal NetEase. At first, she said she felt sorry for herself. But after she learned that there were other women who had been treated similarly, she said she felt there were others who were worse off.

Since her accusations, more people have spoken out online, accusing Wu’s staff of predatory behaviour such as inviting them to boozy karaoke parties.

Kris Wu, who grew up between Vancouver and Guangzhou, has denied all allegations of assault and insisted he was innocent in multiple social media statements. Wu’s studio also published a lengthy response to the teenager’s claims, denying any wrongdoing and alleging that she tried to extort his staff for millions of yuan and falsified her accusations. Meanwhile his lawyers are suing the teenager for defamation.

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