It’s been almost two months since China-based Singaporean actress Eleanor Lee’s reputation was dragged through the mud.
Back in May, the 25-year-old faced massive public backlash after an alleged voice clip of Lee insulting mainland Chinese was leaked by her former assistant Xiao Pang.
The incident led to talk that she would be edited out of new drama Fu Shan Hai aka Go To The Mountains And Sea in which she has a starring role.
The actress maintained her innocence and on May 21, posted a video on her socials to share that she had filed a police report and was fully cooperating with the investigation. She remained under the radar since.
While everyone has been curious about Lee’s whereabouts, her team took to Weibo on Tuesday (Jul 29) to share that they have won the lawsuit against Xiao Pang.
According to the legal statement, the court issued a judgement on Jun 23 and it came into effect on Jul 17.
It noted that Lee’s former assistant had disseminated false information online, which infringed Lee’s right to reputation, caused her psychological harm and affected her commercial activities.
Prior to the lawsuit, Xiao Pang had admitted on her socials that the recording was fabricated. At that time, Xiao Pang also apologised to Lee and urged the public to stop spreading the false rumours.
“Based on this, the court ruled that the defendant must publish a signed apology to Eleanor Lee at a designated location on Sina Weibo for 60 consecutive days, and compensate for emotional distress, legal expenses, and other economic losses,” it read.
Additionally, the legal team has collected evidence and identified over 10 social media accounts that maliciously fabricated and spread false information about the actress.
They will continue to monitor these users, stating that if relevant online users do not promptly delete the infringing content after the statement is published, or continue their infringing behaviour, the lawyers will gather further evidence and take legal action on behalf of their client.
Lee’s team also reposted the statement to reiterate her love for China.
“Eleanor Lee has always loved and respected Chinese culture and firmly upholds her own stance,” they wrote.
“The studio is committed to protecting her legal rights and calls on everyone not to believe or spread rumours, to jointly resist false information, and work together in creating a clean and positive online environment.”
So when is Lee making her comeback?
