Chinese woman pays to be lead in drama, reportedly asked for over 60 kissing scenes with male lead

A Chinese woman has gained attention online for paying to be the lead actress of a short-form drama and reportedly requesting for more than 60 kissing scenes.

Lianhe Zaobao reported that according to the drama's director, an investor claiming to be a rich woman spent a lot of money requesting that she tailor-made a short-form drama.

Accused of inappropriate intimate behaviour

The woman then casted herself as the female lead "princess" of the drama with more than 50 episodes and was said to have personally selected her male lead actor.

On top of that, she apparently requested for over 60 kissing scenes to be included in the drama.

Zaobao reported that the male lead actor Zhong Yufei, posted a video saying his co-star allegedly engaged in inappropriate intimate behaviour during filming.

He claimed that he was forced to endure his discomfort on set, where he had reportedly been cast as a "fallen prince".

The production team alleged that since the female lead requested more than 60 kissing scenes in the drama with over 50 episodes, the proportion of intimate scenes became "quite exaggerated".

In addition, Zaobao reported local media as saying that the male lead accused his co-star of frequently adding kissing scenes.

After the drama was completed, the platform reportedly deleted over 20 intimate scenes as they were believed to be too explicit.

This apparently resulted in problems with the plot, leading some viewers to be mistaken that the co-stars had a close relationship in real life.

Advised reducing kissing scenes: Director

After the incident was brought to light, the director reportedly clarified in a video that she was only the production company for this customised short drama.

She was not the wealthy woman she had mistakenly been portrayed to be.

Zaobao also reported the director as saying that the investor allegedly refused to pay the remaining 30,000 yuan (around S$5,700) production fee after filming was completed.

This was supposedly due to dissatisfaction with the platform cutting many kissing scenes from the final product.

The director added that though she had initially advised reducing the proportion of kissing scenes, the female lead had allegedly insisted on her own opinion.

Zaobao reported that the production team stated that in the future, they would protect actors' rights more clearly and clarify responsibilities when signing contracts.