C-actress Zhao Lu Su Blasts Her Agency on SNS for Not Supporting Her After Illness and Threatening to Just Quit
This has been brewing for awhile and Zhao Lu Si may have telegraphed it when earlier this week she removed a link to her agency on her SNS bio. This weekend she went public with a long Weibo post blasting her agency for what has transpired (from her view) over the last 8 months. She was ill and needed to pull out of events and reduce her filming and her agency supported her for that, and even said it would cover the financial side. But then she said the agency didn’t and made her pay for it (fees and penalties), and then paused events of her office (i.e. the team assigned to her), until now only a few people are left, and told her that she might get blacklisted. She said she stupidly re signed a contract with them two years ago and now has four years left on it so she can’t even leave, but all the money the agency made off her was from her hard work over the years. She said she has a bad inner essence (core) so rather than the agency telling her she will get blacklisted she will now quit! She told her fans (baobeis) that she wished she called cops back then because now (what the agency is doing) is considered legal under the contract. So don’t trust any words of reassurance, just call the police! Welp, this will open a whole new can of hot searches and finger pointing in the coming days.
Obviously don’t know the entire story but it doesn’t like what her agency is doing is that unreasonable based on what she has written. I’m sure $2mil RMB doesn’t cover the entire loss of the filming of Lover. It’s probably just her portion of it. Also, cutting down her staff since shes too sick to work seems like a logical thing to do. The company might be awful but drama just seems to follow ZLS everywhere. It feels like she plays hard into victimhood to make her fans make trouble.
There’s still many unpaid crew who worked for her drama. She’s crying over 2.5M which she’ll earn with another brand deal and such. But what about those who literally earn bare minimum and such. These things are often hidden from international audience as chinese social media is different than west also her fans only post positive things about her. If she’s serious she should have posted lawyer’s notice for lawsuit than posting her doctors note for her depression.
I really pity her for falling victim to a bad agency but there’s not much she can do with a binding contract except for finding another agency to take over her contract. She’ll get into even more trouble with the way she’s inciting her fans now.
If her agency is so bad, why did she renew her contract with them recently?
why doesn’t she just hire legal team to sue her company for the mistreatment instead of airing the all this drama out in public.
She can’t sue her agency because she can’t prove she’s been mistreated apart from doctors notes on her self-reported mental state (lawyers can’t prove the agency caused it directly). Her agency spent tons of money to train her in acting, dance, singing, modelling, fitness, yoga, interview skills, makeup skills, and then debuted her, her first drama was a Yuzheng production and not a no name show, in other words they successfully made Lusi famous even though she had zero acting background, didn’t attend any reputable art school, and has to compete with a lot other young actors. Any court of law will deem that she’s been relatively well-treated by her agency and not severely mistreated (there are a lot of no name actors nobody has ever heard of, including the lesser known actors in Lusi’s agency, who aren’t complaining about mistreatment even though their agency markets them poorly) simply because she’s a top star who has a lot of endorsement deals. It’s very hard to prove you have been neglected or badly treated by your agency when there are videos of Lusi spitting gum into an assistants’ hand and articles about her opening dessert shops or hanging out with her costars like Zeng Li. She obviously gets paid on time (her large mansion has been photographed before), is in possession of a lot of wealth such that she can open new businesses i.e. her company isn’t taking all her money, she has a lot of pets and even markets them with her brand sponsors, in general it’s very hard to see exactly where she’s been treated poorly given that many less famous actors are not complaining about getting small roles only. Just the fact that her agency made her one of the most popular actresses in her age group proves they gave her a lot of attention and investment.
This is a realistic world…when you help them earn money, you are the Boss. When you dont, you are just another artistes. I do think her popularity and status is not without lots of investments. But I am certain there are more details we do not know.
I am not even certain if anyone is ready to invest heavily on her currently… her last breakdown was just too wide spread. And these makes investors very cautious. There are also more up-coming actress waiting to replace her…
I will just wait and see what happens next… if agency retract their promise to her…then she can still sue them.
She posted a report of her having severe anxiety and severe depression symptoms as well. I don’t know, the way she’s going reminds me of Li Mingde’s case. He caused so much ruckus online and offline, several platforms banned his accounts, and he’s now sentenced to 6 months’ of jail though this is due to him deliberately causing damage to another person’s vehicle or something like that.
I also thought of Li Mingde. I hope Lusi’s case will not escalate to this point!
@Nena I hope so too, it’s always more difficult for individual artistes to fight against agencies.
Li Mingde, I read offended more people in the industry. I dont think anyone spoke up for him… Some of his online rant may be valid but the method he went about expressing it, he broke his own rice bowl.
She hasa new drama coming up, this is just to try to create hype. Nobody in China is looking favourably on her behavior.
Really? And you’re the spokesperson for over 1 Billion people in China?
Just speak for yourself!
Darling, Lusi…Keep your head up, keep your heart strong…Nobody knows the battle, the trauma that you are facing. Pain is a pain, heartbreak is a heartbreak…it is that simple…no matter who you are, young or old…take a break if you have to. I hope you are not alone…hope there is someone beside you to keep you company…
I get it that she’s sick and all but why did she signed the contract again. Nobody ever signs the contract if they’re not profiting from it. And rather than blasting it on social media she should have gone to lawyer and would have shown a lawsuit notice rather than showing her prescriptions from the doctor. At this point she should take a 2-3 years break and cure her depression first as ma sichun did. A celebrity is earning millions is crying and rambling over depression when in China there’s people who don’t have proper necessities, no employment are forced to live in a basement or abandoned building. How is she pitiful in any way than them? It’s same as the last time, she and her friends marketed her illness and kept her on hot serches almost everyday when such times people prioritize healing this dumb actress was busy selling her illness and gaining sympathy. Also if she’s not cured why sign new contracts and such. This girl really need to prioritize her mental health right now, there’s many celebrities who’s facing hardship under their company be it XZ who finally left wajijiwa or Yang mi who was harassed under jaywalking for so many years and then there’s Bai lu who literally under a trash Yu zheng they all are abiding by the law somehow completed or are completing their term to properly leave their toxic company. Not like this crybaby, at this point I’m really sick of her tantrums. To those who think I’m a hater, please consider me one for talking and thinking rationally unlike her blind followers.
At workplace, I’m constantly reminded of how to pick the battles to fight. What ZLS’ been doing may not look wise cuz she appears to engage herself in a touch battle. Nonetheless, I believe she’s not the only case in Asian showbiz, and perhaps many Asian celebs feel related. Given that I enjoyed a few of her dramas and I do think she has unique charisma and very strong presence in her leading roles, I’m more on sympathy side. It’s like being stuck with a bad employer under an unfavorable contract without union to fight for you. This is sad. Here in the US for ordinary working people other than executive boards, there is no such thing as binding contracts for your employment. We can just switch employer and leave the sinking ship behind. Unfortunately that’s not her case. Poor Lusi. Best wishes for her. It’s would be a pity she’s absent from Cdrama.
There’s no binding employment contracts for ordinary working people in many countries including China as well, people can leave as long as they give due notice or compensation. The thing is, the contract that celebrities signed with their agencies aren’t employment contracts, do correct me if I’m wrong though. It’s the same for that New Jeans group too, South Korea’s Ministry of Labor says celebrities are not classified as employees under their laws.
Employee gets paid by the employer but celebrities share their earnings and profits as per the contract. So yes they’re not similar also a company provides them, shields them, builds their name from scratch not due to some goodwill but because celebrities are the product they’ve created and it’s all business and every artist knows that. They sign the contract knowing all the clauses (favourable or unfavorable). Thanks for kind of raising this point and yes both the contracts are ways different.
She’s talented and pretty. But all this drama is not good. It looks like she’s seeking for attention, and seems to be really sick mentally. Instead of being pressured to work, I hope she really gets the help she needs to get back on track or else it will be such a waste. I don’t think it is the right time to be finger pointing who is at fault, agency or her. Wonder where are her parents and real friends when she need them most now..
Maybe it’s not a bad idea for her to quit (assuming she can handle any potential financial penalties). At least temporarily. She sounds like she’s spiraling and needs to take time off of work and get out of the spotlight. Her previous break wasn’t long enough considering how serious she described it.
I’m honestly tired with how she constantly plays the victim and seeks pity. There are many celebrities in China who have faced difficulties with their agencies like xiao zhan, who recently ended his contract with wajijiwa yang mi, who endured a lot during and after her departure from jaywalk and is only now regaining her footing and bai lu, who is still under that trash yu zheng’s management. Despite their struggles, they abid by their contracts and made their exits after ending their contract in a proper way (except Bai Lu, who’s still with her agency).
In contrast, what Lusi did was renew her contract without fully understanding the terms essentially putting herself at a disadvantage by her own decision. She’s financially well off, with property and assets under her name, yet tries to gain sympathy from the public, many of whom are dealing with real issues like unemployment, food inadequacy, and mental health struggles they can’t even afford to address.
If she’s genuinely unwell, then she should consider taking a proper break, like ma sichun did, maybe make a comeback after two or three years recovery and treatment. It’s hard to take her seriously when someone reportedly too sick to walk is performing at a music festival just two months later, who literally was trending for a month due to her health which was caused by her unhealthy weightloss and botox poisoning.
Frankly, I’m tired of seeing news about her. She repeatedly makes poor, irrational decisions and then tries to gain public sympathy from her blind idiot fans who don’t seem to question her actions. Even her dog seems to be used as a PR tool to market her dog lover image. At this point, it would be better if she stepped away from the industry for a while and focused on her health.
There are others involved in this situation like staff and workers from her previous drama who went unpaid and truly suffered the consequences of her health ( caused by herself) that impacted filming. Unlike most cases where the actress is replaced, she didn’t formally step back, which prevented the production from recasting, causing further delays and losses.
In the end, the real victims here are not her, but those who were affected by the fallout of her decisions and if she is serious then just hire a lawyer and file a proper lawsuit and post that rather than posting her doctors prescription for her depression and anxiety.
You seem like a nice person.
I am not a nice person but I do run business and know about th3 contracts and stuff these days whether it’s in kpop or c-entertaintment people like her are treating it all as a joke. And to fullfill their ego and gain public sympathy they go beyond the lengths. I have Chinese friends and they do talked about how unfair their system is and they also have to deal with such traffic stars tantrums too as they don’t already have enough problems. I just quitely like to read the c-entertaintment rumors but this brat always does something to throw her tantrums and I just can’t stand that like if you have problems then use the damn lawyer not weibo like it’s your father’s property. And if you made a mistake resigning then just pay the penalty or sue the company why announce it to public in such a way to disrupt their narratives. Sorry but she pisses me off too much.
Not related but why the heck i am seeing my comment twice? I did commented twice but my first wasn’t showing so I posted second and now both are showing? Is this some kind of glitch?
You are genuinely such a miserable person, everyone had these agencies promising them but going back on it later, her agency promised to handle the breach for her not filming anymore but they didn’t and left everything for her to handle, while still profiting off of her, many such cases has happened with other actors,including the ones you mentioned. Frankly, I’m happy she’s publicising this, many others tried to but were forcefully shut down and many wouldn’t even try when this situation is the most common thing in the entertainment industry,this situation is exactly how diddy became a billionaire, artists are left high and dry, thrown away with just skin and bones, but agencies keep getting richer and fatter,cause there’s people like you to excuse it,genuinely,rot to hell
Yes, I really hope she terminates her contract and pays the tenfold penalty as mentioned in her contract. Listen, contracts are the base on which the industry works, and if you treat that as a joke, then that’s the trouble. Rather than thinking emotionally, I choose to think rationally. Her company is confident because they are following the contract.
And do you really think that a drama crew is only worth 2.5M??????Because if you do, then you really don’t know the reality, girl. Drama productions of such a level cost way more, plus the contracts often have two-fold or three-fold penalties to avoid risks. Her company has paid that amount, dear! or they (the drama) would have sued her already and how the heck you judged her company only by listening to her statement? And there are artists who is in much worst condition unlike her, dear!
The director of that drama is wellknown his recent hit, I think, was Guardians of the Dafeng, and he also has many hit dramas under him. So how the hell is he getting hate for her illness? I get it, you guys like her, bla bla bla….., but there are many people who are more miserable than her like the actual crew who were left unpaid who earn way lesser than her.
My only point is- why post your doctor’s report and not the proper lawsuit notice? Because either she knows that she is at a disadvantage, or this is going to be another marketing stunt. Her lovely fans aren’t even aware that a drama team was considering her for a female-centered historical drama about a female historian. Yes, they were thinking of taking the risk casting her but your lovely Lusi lost that opportunity too.
At least her company isn’t that bad, since she has openly challenged them many times. And all the Weibo hot searches and bot fans they bought for her show that they want her to succeed. Who in their sane mind would harm their cash cow same as Xiao Zhan’s company do to him. Also, some female stars who are the cash cows for their companies, like Dilireba, Ju Jingyi, Bai Lu they are all suffering as well. At least your Lusi has a company that gives her proper resources and support. What about those poor actresses???? And no they aren’t cowards they just know how things work and in the end it is them, who’s going to be at disadvantage
So hell nah!, I’m not a miserable person but she is. Because if she doesn’t terminate the contract this time, or if this was just another publicity stunt, then I really hope she gets her karma and ends up banned for real.
Also diddy’s case is much more worst dear he is a living a****le and he’ll gonna suffer a lot for real.
@janvilla maybe you’re right but you write so many rude things which sounds unpleasant. Try not to be disrespectful towards lusi, she already under cold water why scold her even more.
@Anj who are you again???
@JanVilareal, since you tagged my fav Xiao Zhan, I can’t help but chime in. Almost all of XZ’s fans know he had been working with a douchebag agency for how long? 10 yrs I guess. XZ used to sue the agency and tried to break the contract but failed. Therefore, he had no choice but endured abusive employer-employee relationship until his contract finally ended this summer. I bet ALL his fans have been celebrating the new phase (accomplishment lol) of his career. It’s very tough for XZ to press through the contract years and achieve such huge success. Not many actors are blessed like that. There were many lousy businesses that XZ’s former agency had done to him. This thread isn’t the best place to talk about that. Rather, using him as an example to dismiss or mock ZLS sort of misses the point and is inappropriate. Even though XZ has been the most popular celeb in C-ent and has endorsed the largest numbers of global high-end brand names with lucrative fees, it was said that he only earned 25%- recent 50% out of his efforts alone. The agency got the most out of XZ’s work alone. I personally don’t think XZ or Yang Mi commend these types of contracts and business practice in C-ent in terms of profit allocation alone, not to mention other issues of unfairness and agency’s mistreatment (usually overwork) of their artists. I also doubt the types of contracts prevalent in C-ent is culturally related cuz here in the US, we just don’t see much news or public attention focused on celebs’ contract disputes. There may be shady practice behind the door. But I’ve got the impression that western artists have more freedom to express themselves and be engaged in creativity, at least not the case with my XZ. For example, he signed on projects and a few times found his name just used to promote other actors brought into the cast from nowhere. LOL. The performance of his dramas was also undermined because of nepotism or whatever against his original wishes for promising projects. There’re reasons why he only kept The Untamed, The Youth Memories, and recent Legend of Zang Hai in his public portfolio on Weibo. Why dropping all other dramas from his public resume? Cuz he might consider other dramas not worth a mention LOL.
Therefore, using Yang Mi and Xiao Zhan for example to support your narrative to rebuke ZLS’s allegation appears to be more like an invalid point to me.
There is a reason why XZ supported LuSi when she asked him during the lack of Pearl Girl promo from her agency. He UNDERSTOOD her problem and her fight.
XZ didn’t drop other dramas from his public portfolio on Weibo, there’s a word count limit so he shortlisted to his three best performing dramas.
And XZ had supported plenty of celebrities’ promos as long as he’s on okay terms with them, you only see him avoiding a few people like plague.
@Somebody
Lol.. their cases are way different and still are i Praise XZ for knowing his clear stance as he immediately left after his contract end but also respected his contract terms. Same is Yang mi she also respected her contract and paid the penalty. All my point was they never go around talking and disrupting public opinions.
Contracts are important because there’s always this thing about people leaving their employer after being successful, so the employer kind of keep terms on their favor and it’s your choice whether to sign it or not and if you somehow did then complete the things you agreed. In legal world contracts are not a joke dear. That’s why I respect artist who maturely handle things and not just talking and doing random things on weibo. The actor ziyu left immediately when he faced assault and took matters to public with concrete evidence. But in ZLS’s case all is just talking and rambling without a proper proof. She chose to post on weibo before filing lawsuit and is doing livestremes each day to keep public opinions her side, she made this whole thing a child play, accused her company without a proper evidence. And yes I’m the person who never believe things easily and never a one sided arguments.
Western artist have freedom because they never sign the things which aren’t on their favor, you know in US they sign many papers for a single commercial shoot, I know the entertainment industry is shady be it us, korea or China, but things like contracts are important that prevents artists and the company and it is your choice whether you wanna sign it or not.
And about Xiao zhan a part of him also kept those dramas because they are his famous ones, and about lusi is that she’s disrespectful, she always had and I think she always will. If you’re aware of her past scandals you’ll understand and her company more or less did everything for her favour, they let her do whatever the heck she wanted be it doing her makeup, talking bad about them, they brought all kind of opportunities they could for her and she never was forced anyway to choose. Her case is far more different than Xiao zhan or Yang mi or Bai lu. Also she chose to resign with her company again considering her talking past abuse no one in the sane mind would do and not is challenging them. Lol everything is a joke as long as you’ve traffic in china. I went against her only after her neglecting her responsibilities, when she was busy shooting the variety show after her sickness or so called recovery there were many unpaid workers who didn’t had neither work nor money. Just because some actress undergo some beauty injections and got sick or because she was just not liking her role for the new drama??
If you’re in the industry then bear the damn responsibilities or just get lost.
No matter what happens, Lovely Lusi please stay strong and hope you know that you’re not alone. Family, friends and fans will be right beside you.
Her contract will expire on 2030 or she’ll have to pay 400M+ to her agency for breaking the contract. Her previous rumor about her boss beating her or something was spread over by her friends. And this time is also it’s their way to gain public opinion but it is backfiring her as many working class people are questioning her behavior. Someone above already mentioned c-celebs unusual contract but many of them fulfilled their part and refused to renew but in lusi’s case she willingly renewed her contract so things are honna be difficult for her. She’ll either have to pay the damn amount plus half the cut from all her current endorsement or will have to stay out of showbiz and only appear for the brands she’s currently working. And in the meantime she won’t be able to sign any deal be it brand deals or dramas.
What does she mean call the police? If everything is legal she might have to find a way to pay her out or save a lot of money and slave to get out. Does this mean she is retiring? If she claims she quit will she be able to continue acting? Sounds super sketchy.
She must be ill advised…some of the things she shares online does not look good on her and her career.
Be her fan or not, it is not okay to spread hate. We don’t know what truly happened behind the camera, and none of us know her personally, her circle of friends or from the entertainment industry who knows inside story. She is severely depressed and need help. The least we can do is not to assume and to spread words of kindness because perhaps there are people who in similar situations as her reading this article. We don’t want another Sulli, Jonghyun or Hara, no more. Depression could kill. The world is dark enough with struggles, hungers, and sadness. Just be kind no matter what, karma is real, and what goes around will come around. Whether Lusi is faking her illness or truly sick, the truth will come out. Don’t look at her as celebrities, see her as fellow human who is hopeless and need help.
I don’t think the other person is completely wrong either @janvill wrote his opinion like every other individual here, and i agree the person saying if lusi is sick then take a break and comeback stronger. Who doesn’t have difficulties in life, we all face hardships for our career, studies but in the end we all try to solve our problems on our own.
True, everyone have their own rights to express their opinion but not to spread hate. They can give their opinion about this case and situation from the professional view about the contracts and responsibilities but to call Lusi immature, throwing tantrums, playing victim that are just plain rude and hateful. Who are we to judge someone personality or life. Yes, everyone have their own struggles and the way we deal with it is different but is it that hard to be kind with words and not to add more hate to a person who already at low point of their life. Have you seen her livestream? She at the point where she doesn’t care anymore. She just want to live well. I am not her fan but I never write bad things about her or spread rumours. This is the basic common sense. If you think its okay to say those hateful words then be prepared when others do the exact same thing to you when you at your lowest. Seriously guys, a little bit of kindness could cheer others up, that life isn’t that bad, being ALIVE isn’t that bad. Sigh…that my 2cents I guess. Sorry if I rub you in the bad way…
@eman
If you’re a celebrity or a public figure you’re bound to be judged for everything you do. That’s the risk of being a celebrity and they all know the risks of being a celebrity. Her livestremes are just another way of her gaining the public favor have anyone questions or asked her for proof for the things she’s implying? For you she’s miserable but what about the company or the employees you choose to believe and curse the company without even knowing their side of argument??
And if she doesn’t gives a damn then why is she seeking all the publicity and why she couldn’t quietly just sued them first rather than outing them in public like this??
If she’s not well mentally then she could say and do anything without exercising due care, attention, restraint. If that is the case, she needs a minder or three, hopefully ones who are sympathetic but also mindful of the damage she is doing to everyone, especially herself, who monitor/keep her off social media, etc..
I’m also puzzled about opting for contract renewal but, considering the potential repercussions – exhorbitant fines, black-listing, etc., from dropping out of Almost Lover, it could be that she really had little choice. Plus she wasn’t at her strongest, mentally. Again, hence the need for a really good minder.
Anyway, the conditions in the C-drama industry strike me as being pretty sh*t, actors/actresses seem to work on more productions/year than Korean ones, surprised there aren’t more casualties.
Are we surprised she is having this melt down, that ;ady over the last past year has gone from one film set straight to the other. I remember people raising concern about her schedule. this breakdown is obviously a result of the constant stress without taking time off.
Hoping this does not affect her career
Aww, I always see her as such a bubbly person. She’s always smiling to her fans. I wish her the best and for her to come back well and stronger.
Not a fan, but I think she’s very unique on screen. I also only heard about positive feedback from people working with her. For example, I used to watch an interview on site with a famous Chinese broadcasting station where the staff praised her for being very approachable and friendly to work with. The staff also mentioned other famous celebs and praised their teams. But ZLS stood out as the one working with the station staff herself.
I love how strong Lusi is but in legal way, she is at edge here. What she did might be considered as an incite and her fans are already blasting online targeting that agency and if this continue, I doubt Lusi will win this and agency in China are known to be ruthless, they will do everything for an actress not to have any project at all. I hope Lusi got a backing or got a lawyer, draft a letter of termination for her contract and take it to the court.
@janvillareal I couldn’t find the reply button but here it is…does being celebrity means that it is a green light for others to blame, mock or insult? Really? If you truly believe that then there’s nothing more I could say. Of course being a celebrity comes with fame and risk. But is being celebrity means you’re no longer considered human? Celebrity does not have feelings like ordinary people are? Celebrity does not feel pain? Celebrity can’t express their feelings to the public at all? Lusi does livestream to tell the people what happen to her at the time when she was sick, to tell her part of story. If its a marketing strategy or to incite her fan, none of us know the truth. Lusi trying to reach her company, to communicate, to negotiate but the company avoided her, she waiting for the company to do what was promised to her. And for the crew, cast and filming production who suffers loses due to her being sick, of course that very unfortunate, they deserve compensation, and those black fan who insults/curse need to be sued. Even internet have laws. My point is why are you being so emotional like Lusi is your biggest enemy in life? Does Lusi kill your family members? Does she fraud your money? If not, I really couldn’t think any reason for you to be so malicious towards her. There is two side of the story, the truth will prevail and if Lusi is as what you think, she will get her retribution. If not, are you prepared to seek forgiveness to Lusi? Are you? Sigh…really…who hurt you? I may sound foolishly naive but I rather be that than a bully in the internet. Share your knowledge about contracts and its liabilities, do it to educate others but do it without pointing fingers to other people…