Gavin Gao Arrested for Sex Attack in Australia
Thirty-five-year-old Mainland Chinese actor, Gavin Gao (also known as Gao Yunxiang 高雲翔), was arrested for sexually attacking a 36-year-old woman in Sydney. It was reported that Gavin and another man, Wang Jing (written as 王晶 or 王敬 in Chinese), had attacked the woman inside a Shangri-La Hotel room on March 26. Both men are currently held by Australian authorities and will not be released on bail. The case will be tried in April.
The news rocked the Chinese entertainment world, as The Legend of Miyue <芈月传> star previously had an image of being a perfect husband and father. Gavin married Mainland Chinese actress Michelle Dong (董璇) in 2011, and the couple has a one-year-old daughter together.
Trouble in Australia
Gavin and Michelle were in Australia filming for their new television drama, Anaya Romance <阿那亞戀情>. After Michelle completed her scenes, she returned to China while Gavin stayed behind. The alleged sexual attack occurred 12 days after Michelle left Australia.
Australian authorities arrested the men separately at the Shangri-La Hotel and Haymarket. Gavin and Wang Jing’s lawyers have claimed their clients’ innocence as the case was heard in the Central District Court in Sydney on Wednesday. The next court hearing will be on April 6.
Wife Trusts Gavin
Since Gavin’s arrest occurred in Australia, local media outlets also reported the arrest, with headlines blazing, “Chinese Mel Gibson Arrested for Sex Attack.” The news was soon picked up by the Chinese media.
Responding to the news frenzy over the incident, Gavin’s production studio tried to calm the public by issuing a press statement online. Since the Australian police is currently investigating the case, the studio urged fans to not speculate over the matter.
Although refusing to pick up on press calls earlier, Michelle re-posted Gavin’s studio’s press statement and said she has full faith in her husband of seven years. She wrote on social media, “I apologize for causing everyone to worry. I trust him.”
Faces Prison Sentence Up to 20 Years
According to local law, if Gavin is found guilty for sexual crime, he may face a prison sentence from 14 to 20 years. After serving his prison term in Australia, Gavin would be sent back to Mainland China. However, since the alleged sexual attack had occurred inside a hotel room with enclosed privacy, the outcome will depend on the evidence found and the plaintiff and defendants’ testimonies.
Fans were overwhelmed by the news of Gavin’s arrest and could not accept that he may be a potential sexual offender. As Michelle is also rumored to be pregnant with a second baby, the timing of Gavin’s arrest may also threaten to split up their family.
Source: Oriental Daily
This article is written by Jayne for JayneStars.com.
If Gavin Gao is indeed guilty, I would like to think he was drunk or on drugs. He was supposed to have a happy, loving, stable family life with his wife and daughter. Why would he risk his reputation, his marriage and career over something so unconscionable, especially at such a crutical time with the #MeToo movement going on, and all the sexual attacks coming to light in the E-biz right now. Either the woman is lying, or Gavin Gao is a stupid sex fiend.
@bubbletea Let’s think hypothetical but I am not saying he did it. If he did, maybe he was drunk, maybe he was on drugs, either way he is doomed. Drink and drugs, great combo. He is a hypocrite. Risk reputation is never at the mind of rapist. Celebs probably get their ways a lot, like how producers get their ways with celebs so to speak. To me, rape or not knowing when to stop (technically in law, a woman can be naked, and all that but 1 second before copulation screams NO! and that means NO, however I do feel there should be some mitigating factor there) when that woman doesn’t want to anymore, or doesn’t want to with perhaps his friends but yes with him, etc, if this is rare occasion it is lust but to force oneself on a girl, that is about control. Which serial killer was it who was a loving father, loving husband but his hobby? Rape and kill prostitutes. Was it the BTK? Can’t remember. So we can never know a person’s inner most conscience. But what we can all assume is everyone is always selfish and pretentious either all the time or at some point of time. Celebs are not immune to that. I’d rather a flawed but genuine one than a perfect but pretentious one. Plenty of the latter because fandom makes them out to be one.They have an image to maintain. You are right. If this was one off or one night stand (not rape), he is risking everything. Why?
I can only think of 2 sentences;
Because he did before and because he can.
Like I said, his career is over whichever way it is. If Edison Chan being a creep is over, so is this at best a pretentious selfish cheat or at worst, an egoistical serial rapist.
However there is always a chance, ALWAYS that the sex thing never happened.
@funnlim No matter how it went down in that room, Gavin has only himself to blame. He is thirty five years old, not fifteen. He uhh s supposedly a mat uhh re family man. Why go to a hotel with a woman when he knows that it can misconstrued, putting his marriage , reputation and career at risk? Bcc as he n o.o t heard of crazy women who will do and say anything for fifteen minutes of fame? To be in that room in the first place is a stupid move on Gavin’s part.
Excuse me. When is trial by media the ultimate justice system? He was arrested. INNOCENT until PROVEN guilty. It is not for him to disprove, it is for the alleged victim to prove . And what happened was either
a. never happened
b. happened but consensual
c. rape
Just because he was arrested immediately the world jumps to C. A probably is not the case. It is between B and C. If B, it is consensual but his career is over because he basically engaged in threesome and cheated on his wife, probably not his first.
But don’t even jump to c. Name the allege victim because if this is A, believe me, career still over because immature dumb people out there doesn’t know the difference between rape and sex and consent. Let nature take is course. Don’t MeToo everything yet. It happened in expensive hotel, with 2 dudes, depends on who is the girl.
By the way the woman can be lying and Gavin can also be a stupid sex fiend. A rapist is another matter.
@funnlim I don’t know what articles you are reading. No one has said Gavin is guilty of rape. I most certainly have not. Like I said, the woman is lying, he is a stupid sex fiend, or as you added, it was a case of consensual intimacy. Even if it was, Gavin would be putting his marriage and his wife’s health at risk. Why was he in a hotel room with this woman anyway. He should’ve gone home to his wife. If anyone is immature and dumb, it is Gavin Gao, not the PEOPLE like me. I have to hear a real good excuse as to why he was in that room with that woman.
@funnlim if it was just a threesome, he can still bounce back. china’s super lenient when it comes to cheaters.
but this became a crime situation when they’re accused of rape. once the authorities get involved, it’s a done deal. they’re not going to bounce back.
Hope it was a set up by the girl because harassment and rape is taken seriously in Australia! I suppose if something like this happens in China, the woman probably will not be able to do much since the women’s rights law there appears to be non existent. And women are always looked at as ‘the evil vixen.. she asked for it’. We do not know the detail. But I assume the woman will first be examined physically to look for sexual violation evidence and hotel security cameras. The key I think is strong physical evidence.
Hope not true for the sake of his family.
Why are they not allowed bail?
p.s. OK, I googled and found that Gavin’s lawyers will have to apply for bail before he is granted bail since this is an alleged criminal offence. If prosecution proceeds, I wonder whether the two actors’ passports will be confiscated?
Whatever the case, his reputation is gone. Hard to bounce back from this. China’s very unforgiving when it comes to crime.
Although this is a disturbing and sad news.
Weibo got some of the funniest comments ever:
[+1795] The girl must have thought that it was Gao alone and that he was handsome, so she agreed! Who would expect that there are two? I bet the other one was so ugly she changed her mind
Not to sound like an ass hoe, he is handsome and hard to believe he would need to resort to rape. But we know there are many good ladies out there who don’t sleep around so this case is still possible that he is a rapist.
@davy my original thought was that she expected this to be a twosome but instead became a threesome. so she tried to back out.
I don’t find this guy attractive; he’s ok looking, but not throw myself on a platter good looking.
@coralie lol I don’t find him remotely handsome, he’s not ugly, but with that face alone isn’t enough for anyone of decent mind to jump into bed with him.
Not too familiar with Gavin Gao since I don’t follow Mainland entertainment much, but guilty or not, I agree with everyone here that the guy was stupid for putting himself in that situation in the first place. I also don’t think it was the first time (in terms of cheating in his wife), as these types of situations usually aren’t, it’s just that he got caught this time around.
Coincidentally, this is the second instance I’ve seen this week of celebrities or their offspring getting into trouble overseas. Not sure if you guys saw the news about Taiwanese celebrity couple Sun Peng and Di Ying’s 18-year-old son getting arrested in Pennsylvania a few days ago for threatening to shoot up his school (they searched the home he was staying at and found all sorts of weaponry as well as military gear, plus he had searched about purchasing AK47 and other assault rifles). Of course, his parents are trying to say he was only joking and that he wasn’t aware of the sensitivity around school shootings in the U.S. but honestly that’s a stupid defense — I mean, Parkland shooting was only a month ago…unless the dude was living under a rock all this time, there’s no way he can feign ignorance on this one.
Honestly, when celebrities work overseas or send their kids over for school, they need to be more cognizant of their actions and not be pretentious to the point of thinking that their celebrity status can save them because most of the time it doesn’t matter who they are — if they commit a crime, they likely won’t get off the hook merely by invoking celebrity status.
@llwy12 as usual, very well said. I believe Gavin Gao had cheated on his wife before but this time he got caught. He can only blame himself no matter what happened in that room.
Yes, I read about the son of Sun Peng and Di Ying threatening to shoot up the school. I echo your comment about celebrities thinking they can use their status to get themselves or their family members out of trouble. In the wake of all the school shootings in recent years in American schools, the young man and his parents should know that threatening to shoot up or blow up a school is not going to be taken lightly. He deserves to be punished to the max.
Wow!! No idea who they are but the picture on the left he does looks pretty cute and sharp. Sad for his wife and kid if it’s really true.
Whatever happened to the uproar over Eric Tsang’s rape/molest accusations? That controversy sure died down and he’s still making public appearances like nothing happened.
@msxie0714 Hushed up? LOL. I thought Derek filed defamation?
Isn’t there another case where the actress was found dead after falling from the balcony? She was naked and supposedly to be with ‘actor boyfriend’? What happened to that case too? I cannot remember the names since I do not know who they are? Some upcoming actors for famous wuxia dramas … Brave Archer? Jayne may remember.
@llwy12, I thought the article said that those accessories were for Halloween so I assume they are fake? If not, he is in deep sh#t.
I support tough measures against crime but why should there be a drive to paint every actor as ‘perfect’? Look at JN and XL. Picture perfect family and with the alleged cheating, everything falls apart. I suppose ‘perfection’ is for the public’s consumption. It is easier to to be imperfect so you do not have to live up to those lofty impossible expectations. I would rather tell people, I smoke and drink so that if I am caught drinking and smoking.. who cares. I told you I smoke and drink and I never pretend otherwise. Maybe, the government or even the agencies are to be blamed for trying to paint perfection for their actors. I remember poor Ma Tian Yu was not allowed to play a baddie. IMO, we are free to do what we like so long what we do is not a crime or hurt someone.
I am curious about this outcome. BTW, isn’t the other dude an actor too?
@mangotango According to the articles I read as well as the news reports on TV, what they found was a ballistic vest (the type used in the military), live ammunition, ammunition clip pouches, and a high-powered crossbow. On his ipad (which was one on loan from his school), he had searched for how to purchase AK-47 and AK-15 rifles. The Halloween part was the defense his lawyer (and his parents) made — the assertion that the vest they found was his Halloween costume (though his lawyer had no comment about the ammunition that was found as well as the fact that he had googled how to buy weapons, only stating that if both those things were true that it wasn’t illegal). Honestly, the Halloween costume excuse isn’t going to fly…even if that part was true, why was he googling how to purchase guns? Honestly, he doesn’t expect people to believe that he had no intentions to shoot up the school, yet he had live ammunition in his room AND had searched for (and asked people too according to testimony) how to purchase a weapon that fit that ammunition? As for the parents…I don’t remember too much about Sun Peng other than he is a famous variety show host in Taiwan. His wife Di Ying is a tough cookie though — one of the things she was in the news for in recent years was her “bragging” about beating up Yammie Nam many years ago (I think she had said she kicked her on purpose because she was being a diva or something)….I don’t remember the details of that news story but I do recall that her comments created quite a stir in the industry.
In terms of Gavin Gao’s situation — never heard of Wang Jing so no clue who he is, however because his name sounds the same as HK director Wong Jing (I think it’s the same characters in Chinese too), reporters kept hounding Wong Jing at his latest web series’ press conference asking him about the situation. It was kind of funny because he kept having to clarify it’s not the same person (and honestly the reporters are stupid because the authorities already arrested both Gavin and the other guy so obviously it’s not the HK director Wong Jing they’re standing there talking to, lol).
I agree that there shouldn’t be a need to paint every actor as perfect because none of them are. But the reality is that in the entertainment industry, image and reputation are important components of the artist’s “package” and for many of them, maintaining a “perfect” image is the ultimate life goal (as long as they continue to be in the industry of course). Personally, I feel the same way as you in that I could care less what the artists do in their free time as long as they are not committing a crime or hurting anyone, but then again, we’re considered the exception and so those production companies aren’t targeting people like us who don’t buy into all that fake image crap…their target are the ones who do believe in and expect their idols to be “perfect” because it’s an easier sell for them…
@llwy12 Indeed. My first reaction .. Wong Jing the director.
Sometimes, the love dovey dramas pains a false picture of the real world. And yes they target the teenagers with rose coloured glasses.
Anymore news re Gavin’s case?
@mangotango Some interesting turn of events according to today’s news reports. I’m assuming Jaynestars will probably have a more detailed translation but apparently, the Chinese-language version of an Australian newspaper “downgraded” the accusations against Gavin Gao from “sexual assault” to “assault” (instead of the characters 性侵 which translate to “sexual attack” or “rape” the characters now being used are 襲擊 which translate to “assault” or “attack”). Many are assuming the reason for this is because of the heavy penalties for sexual assault in Australia, which could range from 14 (best case) to 20 (worse case) years in prison, so the media outlets over there are being cautious and retracting their wording since there has so far been no official press release / statement from the Australian police on the official charges. Taiwanese media outlets are reporting that according to one of Gavin’s friends, the alleged victim is one of the scriptwriters for the series that Gavin was filming and that she had gone into his room on her own accord but then after she left she called the cops and claimed he raped her, even though there were other people in the room as well at the time (the assumption is that both Gavin and Wang Jing as well as others were in the room at the time)…the speculation (according to those reports) is that it was possibly a labor dispute that escalated into some type of assault that stemmed from Wang Jing (who is the producer of the series) allegedly not paying the scriptwriter the money she was due for her work on the series so she’s now trying to get them in trouble. Of course, this is all speculation at this point since the police aren’t saying anything due to the ongoing investigation so I would say take everything out there with a grain of salt at this point. Arraignment in court is scheduled for 4/6, so most likely we will find out at that time what Gavin and Wang Jing are truly being accused of….
@llwy12 Thanks. Sounds like there was a ‘fight’ for the case to proceed to court. Actors beware, best not to discuss work in bedrooms. Even when there is nothing, rumours can fly.
@mangotango Exactly…I would say don’t even open the door, lol…with Chinese production crew especially, where these types of money disputes are a common occurrence — this is commonly cited as one of the reasons why some of the HK artists prefer to stay in HK, since it’s less complicated structure and they are guaranteed to get paid….they can concentrate on doing their jobs and not have to deal with this kind of stuff…
Either way though, even if the allegations are false and he was caught up in a dispute that had nothing to do with him, Gavin is still going to have a hard time rebounding from this one…this is why these artists need to be very careful when accepting projects, especially ones having to do with Mainland production companies, which are unfortunately notorious for taking advantage of artists and not paying them for their work after they’re done….
@llwy12 I couldn’t agree with you more. Keep the door closed. I am now taking everything about this situation with a grain of salt. These women can sometimes be ruthless and spiteful. Gavin should have that discussion in the foyer or a cafe at the hotel with his party present.
His career is basically over. I believe that if he conducted himself in a manner that is not right towards this woman, then he dhould be he llamo d accountable for his actions. Ig ths woman is lying and being vindictive, she should be made to answer for her actiond., plus issue a public confession and apology to Gavin. Some women are mean a mnemonic d nasty. I rember this one who believed she was the prettiest woman that came out of Hong Kong. She had thr hots for a doctor and started to go to him with a mountain of ‘medical problems’. He caught on and started someone present whem she visited. She wised up and complained to the College Of Physicians And Surgeons that he , haha, made a pass at her and sexually assaulted her. Well, the college and the whole world knew that Dr. X was GAY, and had zero intetest in women. Now if he was straight, his career would have been over, becausr of a bitter, rejected woman..
In the matter with Gavin, if this woman was not paid, she has every right to kick up a fuss about not being paid. If she accused Gavin of a henious crime like rape, and he is innocent, then that is not right. This is not going to end well, and will hurt and destroy families, and or careers.
@llwy12 Is it that bad? No pay? Yeah, working with a reputable producer and director is important. An actor once pined that when you work with unreasonable producers, time passes slowly. Sadly I think the ones likely to be disadvantaged may be the lesser known actors.
Who is kai ko?
@mangotango Yes, it’s a pretty common occurrence apparently – I’ve heard many HK artists who went up to Mainland to work mention at least one instance of either not getting paid at all or not getting paid the agreed upon amount or there was some sort of dispute over payment. I remember Michael Tao said in an interview awhile back ago that he had experience of filming a series in Mainland and the person who was supposed to pay him skipped town so he had to resort to legal means to try to get his money (though that doesn’t necessarily work because Mainland law is complicated). If I recall correctly, Jessica Hsuan also encountered issues when she filmed a series in Mainland several years ago, where the producers delayed paying her and also tried to force her to attend dinner parties which she refused – with her personality, of course she hounded them on the payment thing and she did end up getting the money she was promised but the producers also badmouthed her and claimed she was arrogant and being a diva and that they wouldn’t work with her again. That’s why a lot of times artists who go up to Mainland for work usually have to hire a separate manager (or management company) who is familiar with the industry over there to help them navigate – if they try to do it on their own, they will for sure be taken advantage of (though with the rampant fraud that goes on there, sometimes that doesn’t work either).
Kai Ko is 柯震東, a Taiwanese actor / singer who was arrested in Beijing for drug possession 4 years ago, alongside his buddy Jaycee Chan (Jackie Chan’s son). Apparently, both of them were known for clubbing, drinking, and doing drugs together. Since that incident, neither of them have been able to revive their careers (though in all honesty, it’s not like they’ve tried) and it’s unlikely either will rebound back to the popularity they enjoyed before the arrest.