Surely you would have heard of it by now? We are of course talking about the Hong Huifang Pan Lingling war, which has made headlines even in mainstream newspapers of Singapore!
For the uninitiated, no worries. Here is a recap of the events so far:
- To start off, please note that Hong Huifang and Pan Lingling used to be best friends. They have known each other for more than 20 years, and have worked together in the drama, The Golden Quest.
- Trouble erupted a month ago, at a dinner gathering of close friends from the entertainment industry. Pan Lingling is said to have made nasty comments about Hong Huifang’s children Tay Ying and Calvert Tay.
Tay Ying and Calvert Tay PHOTO: INSTAGRAM
- Furious mummy Hong Huifang sent two mass WhatsApp messages to around 50 of their mutual friends, including Vivian Lai, Chen Xiuhuan and Chen Hanwei. One of the messages was apparently a thousand words long!
- In the message written in Mandarin, Hong alleged how she had been hurt and bullied by Pan.
- She revealed that Pan had made unpleasant comments about her daughter, and Tay Ying’s past relationship, which had hurt Ying a lot.
- Apparently, Pan also made derogatory statements about Calvert’s rumoured current relationship (with Julie Tan?). She suggested that he get vaccinated against sexually transmitted diseases.
At the end of the message, Hong declared, “From the moment I sent out this message you and I are nothing more than just colleagues!
“Do not anger me anymore! If you do so, I will send this out to more people!”
- On 22 July 2018, someone anonymously sent Hong Huifang’s message to Shin Min Daily News. The rest, as they say, is history!
How did Pan Lingling react, you ask?
Apparently, Pan Lingling chose to react to the whole controversy in one line, “Let time heal all wounds.”
Meanwhile, another person who unwittingly got dragged into the whole dirt, is actress Julie Tan, who is rumoured to be dating Hong Huifang’s son, Calvert Tay.
Julie Tan (left) and Pan Lingling (right) | Photo: Instagram
Pan is said to have made fun of Julie’s numerous past relationships, one of which was with a foreigner.
Julie’s mother, Doris Khaw, was so angry that she threatened to take legal action against Ling Ling. She also asked for a public apology.
Julie has expressed her hurt to Lianhe Wanbao, “My mother was heartbroken to see her daughter painted in such a negative light.
“No one deserves this kind of humiliation.”
Pan Lingling has now apologised to Julie Tan and her mum.
“I would like to apologise to them,” said Ling Ling. “I am friends with her mother and I don’t wish for her to have any misunderstandings with me, so this is the most basic thing I can do as a friend.”
Now that the whole issue has spiralled out of control, what does Hong Huifang have to say?
“I only told friends within the entertainment industry about this incident. My intention was to let everyone know what happened, so they won’t be surprised if they found out later,” she told Lianhe Wanbao.
“I never really considered the consequences of my actions.
“This is a matter between Pan and I. This is not a war, there are no winners or losers.”
Interestingly, both actresses are now working in the same production, Reach For The Skies.
Okay then.
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