Chinese dramas and films

The tragic death of actor Jin Ze on June 4, followed by the explosive allegations from his former girlfriend about sexual harassment and exhausting working conditions, has once again drawn public attention to the unhealthy environment within China's entertainment industry.

There are two terms commonly used in the industry: «陪睡» and «陪喝». In the context of show business, both are euphemisms for different forms of coercion and "payment" for career advancement. They fall under the broader concept of «潜规则» (unspoken rules).

«陪睡» (péi shuì) — "sleeping companionship." This refers to sexual favors exchanged for career opportunities. An individual, most often a fledgling actress or actor, is pressured into intimacy with a producer, director, investor, or other influential figure in return for a role, contract, or career advancement.

«陪喝» (péi hē) — "drinking companionship." This refers to forced participation in banquets and drinking parties as entertainment for executives, sponsors, or partners. Actors are required to attend so-called "opening banquets" and drink with "golden sponsors" to "show respect," regardless of how exhausted they may be after filming.

Taiwanese actress Lee Fangwen has spoken publicly about being directly offered a choice between «陪睡» (sleeping companionship) and «陪喝» (drinking companionship). On one occasion, she said a prominent agent told her: "Come to my room tonight, sleep with me, and I'll make you a star in the next series." She refused. Faced with the choice, Lee Fangwen said she preferred «陪喝», reasoning that "at worst, I'll just throw up," but at least it didn't involve sexual assault. She also emphasized that such pressure is systemic in China: "During filming, they throw a banquet, and the sponsors invite all the actors to drink — regardless of gender, no one can refuse."

2026 — Jin Ze: Harassment and slave labor

Actor Jin Ze (real name Zhang Jia Wei) died on June 4, 2026, at the age of 33, in his home in Hangzhou. The official cause of death was not disclosed. Later, his former girlfriend, film producer Li Zifeng, published screenshots of their correspondence in which the actor complained about his grueling work schedule and claimed that at his former company, Huayi Brothers, he was pressured into "accompanying" senior figures and subjected to sexual harassment.

In the messages, he explicitly described being forced to kneel, bitten, and dragged into bed — a direct form of sexual coercion — and also mentioned having to "entertain those gay men" at banquets. He named former Huayi Brothers top manager Liu Tao and iQiyi CEO Gong Yu. These allegations have not been officially confirmed.

Read more: Chinese actor Jin Ze dies at 33

2025 — Yu Meng Long: Mysterious tragic death

Actor, singer, and director Yu Meng Long died tragically on September 11, 2025, after falling from a window. Police ruled out foul play, but the circumstances have spawned numerous rumors and conflicting information.

Yu Meng Long's mother announced through the studio's official account that the cause was an accident related to alcohol consumption.

Despite the official version, recordings have surfaced online that cast doubt on the accidental nature of his death. One audio recording features the heart-wrenching screams of a man whose voice, according to some sources, matches Yu Meng Long's with 99.6 percent accuracy. In another recording, he sobs and cries: "I've followed the rules since I was a child, they've been threatening me." There were also claims that Yu Meng Long allegedly swallowed a USB drive containing compromising materials.

Fans of the actor suspect the case involves high-ranking party officials and businessmen who tried to cover it up. Some theories have even escalated to speculation about human sacrifice, organ trafficking, and underground brothels, but nothing has been officially confirmed.

Meanwhile, rumors have been circulating online about a so-called "death list" belonging to the company "Tianyu Media" (天娱传媒), which allegedly includes more than nine young artists who died by suicide or under mysterious circumstances. This is one of the darkest and most widely discussed conspiracy theories in Chinese show business.

The list is not an official document but a roster of young artists associated with Tianyu circulating on the internet.  Yu Meng Long is said to be at least the ninth artist linked to the company to die suddenly at a young age. Later, more extensive lists emerged, including up to 16 names, though their credibility remains questionable.

The following names most frequently appear on these lists:

• Tan Beixi (谭蓓兮): a singer who died in a car accident in 2006 under what were called "unusual circumstances."
• Shang Yubo (尚于博): an actor who fell from his apartment window in 2011.
• Bian Ce (边策): a CCTV-6 host who fell from a window in Tianjin in 2015.
• Benxi (本兮): a singer and songwriter who fell from a window on Christmas Eve 2016, just days after promoting new music. Her death was ruled a suicide.
• Qiao Renliang (乔任梁): a popular actor and singer found dead in his Shanghai home in 2016. The official cause was suicide amid depression. His parents later faced online harassment.
• Ren Jiao (任娇): an actress who fell naked from a hotel window in Suzhou in 2017. Police concluded it was an accident caused by alcohol intoxication.
• Lyu Jiarong (吕佳容): an actress who posted on social media in 2019 about industry pressure, along with a photo of her bloodied hand, and then vanished without a trace.
• Cai Chong (蔡重): a singer who died suddenly in 2020.

Read more:
Studio confirms death of actor Yu Meng Long
Yu Meng Long's death: Taiwanese fandom demands investigation

2009 — Chen Xiao: The car jump rumor

The rumor that actor Chen Xiao jumped out of a moving car to escape harassment from a senior Huayi Brothers executive resurfaced amid the Jin Ze scandal. The incident supposedly occurred in 2009, shortly after Chen Xiao, then a newcomer, signed with the company. According to the rumor, he leaped from the moving vehicle to escape the advances of a senior male executive, injuring his arm in the process and vanishing from the public eye for two months. In 2011, Chen Xiao broke his contract with Huayi Brothers and signed with producer Yu Zheng, which ultimately led to his success. Today, he is an active actor; two of his dramas, «Legend of the Magnate» and «The Miracles», were released in 2025.

This story has never been confirmed by the actor or his representatives. However, shortly after Yu Meng Long's death, Chen Xiao unexpectedly started a live stream. During the broadcast, he sighed repeatedly and said: "How could I not understand? How could I survive if I didn't understand?"

2025 — Zhao Lu Si: Abuse and the fight for health

In August 2025, actress Zhao Lu Si, one of the most talented young Chinese actresses of her generation, revealed during a live stream that she had been subjected to violence by employees of her former agency, KU Media, back in 2019, before she became famous. According to her, after a failed audition, she was locked in a restroom and verbally abused for three hours. When she tried to leave, a drunk employee chased her, grabbed her by the hair, and slapped her face.

As a result of the ongoing stress, the actress developed depression and bipolar disorder. Her weight dropped to a critical 36.9 kilograms, and she had to move around in a wheelchair. She was later diagnosed with aphasia (a speech disorder) and mobility issues.

In 2025, Zhao Lu Si terminated her contract with the company, accusing it of defrauding her of 2.05 million yuan by forcing her to pay for canceled contracts. She claimed the agency threatened to blacklist her. "I've already spent almost 10 years of my youth here," she said. "I don't want to deal with these people for another 10 years." The company officially denied the assault allegations but did not directly respond to questions about extortion or threats. Zhao Lusi now runs her own studio and remains active; her drama «Love's Ambition» became a top hit in the 2025 season.

Read more:
Zhao Lu Si accuses agency of mistreatment
Zhao Lu Si confirms opening of her own studio

2003 — Leslie Cheung: A legend's tragedy

The tragic death of Leslie Cheung — the legendary Hong Kong actor and singer, an icon of Chinese pop culture — occurred in a different era, back in 2003. He jumped from the 24th floor of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Hong Kong. In his suicide note, he wrote about depression and said that "this year has been very tough." He was 46.

However, in 2025, prominent Hong Kong film producer Chen Lan said in an interview that an hour before his death, Leslie Cheung called her and denied being depressed, insisting that "he was fully conscious" and wanted to hold a press conference to refute the rumors. Yet an hour after the call, he fell from the window.

Leslie Cheung is best known for films such as "Farewell My Concubine" (1993), "Happy Together" (1997), and many others.

2019 — Gao Yixiang: Death on a reality show set

Gao Yixiang (Godfrey Gao) was a Taiwanese-Canadian actor and model, known for his role in the film "Love, Vincent" and the drama "Memories of Beijing."

On November 27, 2019, Gao Yixiang was participating in the filming of the extreme reality show "Chase Me" (追我吧) on Zhejiang TV. The shoot lasted nearly 17 hours straight. At around 1:45 a.m., while running on the track, Gao Yixiang suddenly shouted, "I can't go on!" and collapsed.

He was rushed to the hospital but could not be saved. The cause of death was sudden cardiac arrest. He was 35.

Following public outcry, Zhejiang TV permanently canceled the show. The case sparked widespread discussion about overwork and the lack of labor protections in China's entertainment industry.

Read more: How do Chinese filmmakers produce dramas with dozens of episodes so quickly?

2020 — Huang Zitao: Criticizing the "drinking culture"

In 2020–2021, former EXO member turned Chinese singer and actor Huang Zitao openly criticized the "drinking culture" and coercive "accompaniment" widely prevalent in China's entertainment industry during a live stream.

Huang Zitao said that after wrapping up main shoots, some producers and platform executives demand that actors attend banquets with alcohol. He stated: "I'm very busy — why should I go to a banquet after dinner? If I don't go, will you blacklist me? I don't care. I'm not begging you to cast me in your film. No matter who shows up — some executive or other — what's it to me?"

He also mentioned that young actresses had approached him, saying they were forced to drink in exchange for roles.

Huang Zitao's statements directly address the problem of forced informal socializing, which often escalates into harassment, as seen in the cases of Jin Ze and Chen Xiao. He emphasized: "I'm not afraid of pressure. I just can't stand it when such filthy things traumatize young people."

He also banned his own employees from participating in such events, declaring that any contracts contingent on alcohol consumption would be immediately terminated.

These remarks gained renewed relevance after the deaths of Yu Meng Long and Jin Ze, as many internet users saw them as confirmation of systemic problems in the industry.

Other celebrities have also spoken publicly about pressure and coercion related to informal socializing.

Yue Yunpeng, a popular comedian, said in an interview that early in his career, he stood up for a young actress at a banquet whom a high-ranking official was pressuring to "accompany." Yue Yunpeng started drinking on her behalf, but the next day he was informed that his role had been given to another actor. He called this just the "tip of the iceberg" of systemic issues.

Actress Zhu Xu Dan, according to media reports, has also faced pressure from the "banquet culture" and coercion into informal socializing.

Actress and singer Ju Jing Yi openly refused to participate in a dubious event at the birthday party of well-known businessman Wang Sicong in 2014, for which she was criticized on his social media accounts. He publicly mocked her and called her "hypocritical." In the wake of this scandal, former members of the girl group SNH48 claimed that their agency had forced them into "accompaniment" at similar events to attract investment.

All these cases — from unconfirmed rumors to officially acknowledged tragedies — paint a complex and often grim picture of China's entertainment industry. They point to systemic issues such as extreme workloads (Gao Yixiang, Jin Ze, Zhao Lu Si), psychological pressure and depression (Leslie Cheung), "unspoken rules" and harassment (Jin Ze, Chen Xiao, Zhao Lu Si), and the absence of effective protections for artists.

China's official press does write about the need to protect artists' rights, and the topic has been covered relatively actively in recent times. However, the focus of these publications is skewed toward protecting property rights and intellectual property, as well as reputation (combating defamation), rather than personal safety and working conditions.

There is virtually no discussion of issues such as sexual harassment of artists of both genders, "accompaniment," slave-labor conditions (endless shifts), psychological pressure, and bullying by agencies and management. The focus of the official media is on protecting the commercial interests and public image of artists, not their physical and psychological well-being. The issues of "accompaniment" and systemic violence in the industry, raised in connection with the deaths of Jin Ze and Yu Meng Long, are not discussed in official publications — they remain the exclusive domain of the tabloids.