Disgraced Actress Returns To Films After Near Career-Ending Scandal
Celebrity scandals can often result in the pausing or the complete ending of a career, aka them being “canceled.” This is even more true when the scandal involves a crime of some sort being committed.
Top Idol-Actress Canceled After Disturbing Video With Scandal-Ridden Politician Goes Viral
This has held true for Chinese actress Fan Bingbing.
Fan Bingbing got her start in the late 1990s, earning fame with her role in the film Cell Phone.
Throughout her long career, the actress has appeared in many project, both domestic and abroad including X-Men: Days Of Future Past. Her fame and presence also earned her numerous campaigns with fashion brands and the top spot on Forbes China Celebrity 100 in 2013.
However, her fame took a massive hit in 2018 after a tax scandal rocked her career.
Fan Bingbing was investigated for tax fraud for allegedly reporting amounts lower than she was actually paid. After disappearing for several months, Fan Bingbing returned with an apology and agreed to pay the fines and back taxes that totaled around $70 million.
The scandal resulted in her essentially being blacklisted in China, and halted her casting in roles for several years. During this time, she focused on her makeup brand, Fan Beauty.
Fan Bingbing technically had two films released after the scandal, but she was cast in both before it occurred. The 355 and The King’s Daughter were box-office failures, earning Fan Bingbing a nomination for the “Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actress.”
In 2023, Fan Bingbing appeared in the Hong Kong-Korean film Green Night, which was screened at multiple festivals. Green Night stars Fan as Chinese immigrant that becomes entangled with a mysterious woman.
Trapped in a cycle of oppression, Chinese immigrant Jin Xia (Fan Bingbing) works in customs at South Korea’s Incheon Airport, where she encounters a mysterious green-haired girl (Lee Joo-young) acting suspiciously at the security checkpoint. Overcome by the unspoken attraction between them, she takes the enigmatic stranger home only to uncover her involvement in a deadly drug trafficking ring. After the two end up killing Xia’s abusive husband, the pair go on the run, but when Xia returns to the crime scene to retrieve the drugs the green-haired girl left behind, their plans for finding freedom together take a dangerous turn.
— Film Movement
On October 18, Green Night was finally made available on US streaming platforms, marking her return. As of writing the film has gotten mixed reviews, including from famous site Rodger Ebert.
It’s not an unbearable film, but it’s not a particularly consequential one either, despite the boldness of its themes. In this case, a star’s big comeback comes not with a bang but a whimper.
— Rodger Ebert Review
Though reviews have been mixed, this occasion has marked a new chapter in the star’s career.
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