The Zhejiang Radio and Television Group will be suspending its hallmark show, "SingChina!" (中国好声音).
It is currently investigating "issues raised by the audiences and netizens", the Group announced in a Weibo post on Aug. 25, 2023.
The announcement came eight days after an audio clip of Coco Lee accusing the talent show of being unfair and its production team of bullying her began circulating on Weibo.
Previously known as "The Voice of China", the talent show premiered in 2012 and was aired yearly since.
Besides Lee, other well-known mentors of the show include Eason Chan, Jay Chou, Na Ying and A-Mei.
Lee's accusations
In the audio, Lee shared that she really loved "Sing! China" and wanted to help the aspiring contestants, so much so that she would carry on with the filming despite feeling extreme numbness on her left leg.
As she didn't want to be seen using a wheelchair or crutch, she informed the production team that she would need one of the contestants, surnamed Wang, to support her throughout the recording.
However, during the recording, Lee said the production team "deliberately" cued Wang away from her, resulting in her falling down on the floor.
Lee further added that the production team had humiliated and bullied her because she spoke the truth about how unfair the show was.
According to Lee, she had previously told the production team that it was unfair that one of her two mentees would need to leave the show even though they might score higher than contestants from other mentors' groups.
However, the production team allegedly only responded to Lee by getting physical with her and threatening her that she must leave the show. Otherwise, they would call security.
They also told Lee that the rules of the show were set as such, and no mentor in the show's 11 years of history had ever managed to change them.
Statement from Sing! China production team
After the audio clip went viral, the production team of "Sing! China" released a statement on its Weibo page on the evening of Aug. 17, claiming the audio was "altered maliciously".
The team also accused those who had been circulating the audio of being "disrespectful" to the late pop diva, who passed away on Jul. 5, and "tarnishing the image of the show".
"As a mentor of the 'Sing! China 2022', Lee devoted herself wholeheartedly to her work. The misunderstandings that occurred during the recording of the show had since been cleared. Out of respect for the deceased, we will not comment on this matter further," the statement read.
The production team also said they would remember Lee's sincere contribution to the show forever and hoped she rest in peace.
Ex-contestant supported Lee's story
However, the production team's statement only seemed to enrage netizens further, as many took to the comments section to voice their disapproval of the team.
One commenter said she didn't understand why the team sounded so arrogant, as she hadn't watched the show for a long time.
Screenshot via Weibo
Others questioned whether the team was speaking the truth in the statement and asked how they could be sure that the audio was altered maliciously.
Screenshot via Weibo
This sentiment against the show grew even stronger after Lee's mentee, Wang, published a Weibo post claiming that he was not informed by the production team that Lee would need him to support her during the recording.
Wang said his phone was taken away from him the entire day that day, so he didn't manage to see Lee's message, which informed him of her leg injuries.
Wang also included a screen recording of his WeChat conversation with Lee in the post, which shows Lee accusing the director of the show of "bullying her".
Lee also described the director as a "very, very evil person" and was the worst director she had ever met in her 28 years in the entertainment industry.
Wilber Pan's chair turned itself?
As Lee's accusations against "Sing! China" gained traction on Weibo, the show had to deal with another public relations crisis this week, which cast further doubts on its fairness and credibility.
On Monday, a video showing the chair of Taiwanese singer Wilber Pan, who is a mentor for this season's "Sing! China", turning itself without him pressing the button, started circulating on Weibo.
Gif via Weibo
In the clip, it appeared that Pan was folding his arms before his chair made a sudden turn.
He also appeared to be murmuring, "What?" after the swirl.
Top images via Weibo