Bai Lu Said to End Contract with Yu Zheng

(Above) Recent variety-show controversies involving Bai Lu, including the water-splashing incident and remarks joking about senior artistes, have been linked to the timing of her contract expiry.

With her ten-year contract with Huanyu Entertainment almost up, actress Bai Lu’s (白鹿) relations with her mentor and career benefactor Yu Zheng (于正) became a major topic of netizens’ discussion. As rumors that Bai Lu will not renew her contract continue to intensify, a series of unusual moves by Yu Zheng have also been interpreted as a case of retaliation, sparking heated debate.

Since signing with Huanyu Entertainment in 2016, Bai Lu risen to become a top-tier young actress under Yu Zheng’s strong support, gaining popularity through hit dramas the likes of One and Only <周生如故> and Story of Kunning Palace <宁安如梦>. The two were regarded by the public as a “model mentor-disciple” in the entertainment industry; Yu Zheng had even publicly described Bai Lu as a “daughter he personally raised.”

Public-opinion Pressure Tactics?

However, things appears to have changed during crucial contract renewal negotiations. Many netizens have observed that Yu Zheng has recently been making controversial comments on social media about other artistes or production teams, and these remarks often end up circling attention back to Bai Lu – raising speculation that Yu Zheng deliberately placed Bai Lu in the spotlight at a critical moment, and aimed at damaging Bai Lu’s likeability In addition, Yu Zheng’s moves of heavily promoting newcomers such as Zhao Qing (趙晴) have been interpreted as preparation for a “replacement” in the event that Bai Lu leaves.

Online rumors suggest that Yu Zheng’s strategies are intended to pressure her to stay within Huanyu’s “safe haven” out of fear, but he’s previously denied this during a livestream, expressing emotionally, “She is free to come and go. It does not affect my love for her,”

At present, neither Bai Lu nor Huanyu Entertainment has issued an official statement on the contract expiry. For Bai Lu, whether she will choose to remain in a familiar greenhouse or venture out on her own remains unclear.

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