Taiwanese actress-host Barbie Hsu is suing her ex-husband, Chinese businessman Wang Xiaofei, and his mother Zhang Lan for defamation.
In a legal statement reposted on Weibo by Barbie's management team this afternoon (Aug 8), it indicated that Barbie is pursuing legal action against Xiaofei, 42, for insulting and defaming her on online platforms such as Weibo and Douyin since Nov 21, 2022.
The 46-year-old is also suing Xiaofei's mother, Chinese entrepreneur Zhang Lan, 65, for insulting and defaming her on the latter's Douyin livestream since Nov 21, 2022.
The statement indicated that for insults and defamatory comments that Barbie received from netizens, she will separately appoint a lawyer to collect more information.
Barbie and Xiaofei, who divorced in November 2021 after 10 years of marriage and share two children together, have been involved in various online spats regarding their divorce and children since then.
A report by Mirror Media in November last year wrote that Barbie had not received Xiaofei's alimony since March 2022 and the total amount owed to her had snowballed to NT$5 million (S$220,000). As such, she had approached the Taipei District Court to take action and the court ruled that Xiaofei's assets in Taiwan could be seized.
In response to the matter, Xiaofei made two Weibo posts on the same day, writing that he "doesn't wish to pay the utilities bills for them" anymore, as Barbie had married South Korean singer Koo Jun-yup in February 2022.
Zhang also said in a livestream then that the money her son had earned from the past 10 years have been used completely. She also reportedly said in the livestream: "Don't force me, Barbie will end if I say everything, let's see what kind of person she is."
Barbie's mother also told reporters then that Zhang had called her early one morning and scolded her over the phone for 30 minutes.
Zhang responded again in a livestream later, saying: "Yes, I scolded her… She is definitely an old fox. All the four women in that family are definitely enemies in their past lives…They are like clowns performing."
Over the next few months, Barbie's name would be brought up from time to time in Zhang's livestreams and Xiaofei's livestreams and Weibo posts, about various matters, such as how she allegedly used Xiaofei's money to purchase her wedding veil to marry Jun-yup, and also about their children.
On May 14 this year, Xiaofei revealed the faces of their two children, Hsi-lin, seven, and Hsi-yueh, nine, in a video posted on his Douyin account. Although he deleted the video later, he had reportedly violated his agreement with Barbie not to show their children's faces on social media to safeguard their privacy.
Barbie responded to media queries then that she will be suing Xiaofei. Netizens had also commented that Wang is "exploiting his kids" to demonstrate "fatherly love".
This article was first published on AsiaOne and republished on theAsianparent with permission.