Traditional mainstream media rivals Mediacorp and Singapore Press Holdings are at each other's throats again.

This was after veteran Mediacorp actress Jin Yinji spilled the beans to SPH-owned Lianhe Zaobao in an interview about the hurtful contract negotiations she had to undergo, which saw her eventually leaving the industry three months ago.

Her acting career had until then spanned 30 years.

Following these revelations, the public backlash was swift as traditional television viewers were quick to empathise with the actress.

However, Mediacorp has since issued a statement, claiming that Zaobao was inaccurate with their reporting and that they are investigating Jin's claims.

At the centre of contention was a quotable quote Jin supplied to Zaobao:

“You could have talked to me nicely”, Jin said. “There was no need to say, ‘If I hire you to act, I might as well get a $50 an hour freelancer’.”

In the statement issued, Mediacorp said this quote Jin gave Zaobao was a statement originally made more than 10 years ago:

Jin Yinji clarified that the incident where someone said “Hire you, might as well hire a $50-an-hour player” happened more than ten years ago.

Mediacorp's statement also said Zaobao could have contacted Mediacorp for the facts.

It would have been better if Zaobao had reached out to Mediacorp for the facts before running the story. We would have helped provide a fuller perspective to the matters raised.

Such accusations of inaccuracy has provoked a response from SPH.

The Straits Times has unsuccessfully tried to reach Jin for comment and clarification.

This is Mediacorp's statement in full:

Statement from Doreen Neo, Head of Studios and Chief Content Officer-Designate, Mediacorp

Ms Doreen Neo, Head of Studios and Chief Content Officer-Designate said, “At Mediacorp, we respect all our colleagues and partners, whoever they are. The media reports about our contract negotiations with actress Jin Yinji are a matter of grave concern for us and we have investigated the specific remarks reported. We understand from Jin Yinji that the hurtful “hire you, might as well hire a $50-an-hour player” remark was a passing comment made by someone who had no authority to discuss hiring, over casual conversation that took place some 10 years ago. It had nothing to do with the recent contract negotiations.

“There might have been a misunderstanding leading to reports that Yinji saw a salary cut in the last financial year. For some artistes, the fixed salary component has decreased but their overall compensation has increased because of the volume of work undertaken. We believe that Yinji was not talking about her overall compensation. Respecting the confidentiality of salary negotiations, we can’t go into details but we have reached out to Yinji to understand and address the issue. We value Yinji’s contributions over the decades and we regard all our artistes as colleagues and friends. We are anxious to clear up any misgivings.

Viewers can look forward to watching Yinji in two upcoming dramas – the 130-episode Life Less Ordinary [小人物向前冲] and the 20-episode My Teacher is a Thug [爱不迟疑].

It would have been better if Zaobao had reached out to Mediacorp for the facts before running the story. We would have helped provide a fuller perspective to the matters raised.”

[related_story]

Statement from artiste Jin Yinji

Here are paraphrased statements from artiste Jin Yinji:

Jin Yinji clarified that the incident where someone said “Hire you, might as well hire a $50-an-hour player” happened more than ten years ago.

When asked about her upcoming work, Jin Yinji said she was looking forward to her roles in the upcoming long form dramas, Life Less Ordinary [小人物向前冲] and My Teacher is a Thug [爱不迟疑].

Related articles:

Mediacorp investigating Jin Yinji hurtful contract negotiations

Ex-Mediacorp actress Jin Yinji got teary as she recounted how she was treated like sh*t