Well, at least we now know what football club Jay Chou's into ... Image: Hannah Quinlivan
Well, that was fast. Barely a week into Jay and Hannah’s megawatt marriage and drama’s already struck the starry couple – this time involving tawdry third party innuendo, no less.
Here’s what went down. Last Saturday, fellow Mandopop musician Show Lo made a well, show of himself by recounting a mortifying #throwback incident in 2008, when a love letter addressed to Show was discovered “live” in Hannah’s home during a variety show segment.
Dismissing Hannah’s passionate postcard as “unrequited love”, Show Lo was reported as saying that “admire is admire, but it is Jay Chou she loves.” Ooh, shady – even more so when you factor in Show and Jay’s fraught friendship; call them the Kanye and Jay Z of Mandopop, if you like.
Show’s cheeky comment was immediately pounced upon by Jay’s posse, with dance instructor Ice Cream (don’t ask, it’s a Taiwanese thing) lambasting Show for milking a fabricated incident for shameless self-publicity.
Ice Cream says Show was well aware that the love letter scene was a staged stunt (Hannah, it must be noted, was just 14 at the time), and that there was no real reason for Show to dredge it up a full seven years later. Show Lo’s manager immediately shot back on Instagram, telling Ice Cream: “If you don't like him, don't misunderstand him.”
Me, a publicity-seeking pop star?! No way. Image: Show Lo
This very public (not to mention incredibly unbecoming) spat must have peeved Jay into speaking out, because the newly minted married man took to Weibo yesterday to basically tell his buddies to back off: “In speaking or standing up for me, you can only mislead people. Don't sweat about certain things, it’s enough that we ourselves know.”
Diplomatic as always, Jay signed off with a gentle admonishment: “But you issued comments without asking me first ... I guess this is being brothers!” Translation? Run things through my management before shooting your mouths off, please.
Meanwhile, the maiden caught in the middle has also issued a statement of sorts on Instagram, telling her followers to view the vintage love letter clip as throwaway entertainment.
And as if to cement her status as Mrs Chou, Hannah also posted a wefie with her man clad in a Chelsea FC scarf. (Sidebar: What is it with stars and social media these days?)
In any case, there’s an intriguing postscript to this story: Show Lo’s “it is Jay Chou she loves” comments were made at a press junket promoting his band Cug’s latest. Sheer coincidence or shrewdly timed PR move? You decide.
You can follow Jay Chou and Hannah Quinlivan on Weibo.