PUBLISHED ONFebruary 16, 2024 9:57 AMByYeo Shu HuiOver the years, popular Taiwanese TV hosts Jacky Wu and Mickey Huang had kept in close contact through WhatsApp.
In an interview with Singapore media today (Feb 16), Jacky, 61, showed us part of a message from July 2020, where Mickey, 51, sent him a photo of all of Jacky's albums that he had collected.
Accompanying the photo is an audio message: "I also have a collection of your songs sung during competitions. You were so handsome. I am getting another of your albums… You (using a pronoun for addressing a senior) have left quite a lot of history," Mickey said in a friendly and admiring tone.
Not just that, they had conversations that dated all the way back to around 2015.
However, despite the pleasant exchange they had over the years, Jacky was one of the first people that Mickey accused when he was outed by internet celebrity Zofia last June of forcing a kiss on her more than 10 years ago when she was 17 years old and also taking nude photos of her.
Soon after, Mickey posted three shocking tell-all videos, exposing 18 celebrities in the Taiwanese entertainment industry, including Jacky, before attempting to take his own life.
He had been laying low to recuperate for the past months and there were rumours in recent months that he may be returning to the entertainment industry soon.
Jacky, who is in Singapore this week for a private event and to promote his health supplement products on online shopping platform Shopee, was asked to comment on this by local reporters.
"His errors are things that nobody in showbiz would forgive. And the wrongs that he had done are things that involved the law… I urged him to be brave. If you have done something shameful, you should just change for the better. If I am him, I wouldn't have the face [to return to showbiz]," he shared, adding that Mickey's suicide attempt is a "cowardly" behaviour.
Jacky added that since the Taiwanese MeToo movement began last June, he had been the "greatest beneficiary".
"My daughter (TV host) Sandy told me, 'Papa, you are not bad'," he said, instilling laughter from everyone.
He also said that his conscience is clear because he wants his children to be able to boldly tell people that he is their father.
About Mickey's backstabbing, Jacky said: "He had been like one of my little fans, collecting my albums and all that, but how can you say all these things behind my back?... In this life and the next, he would not be able to win me forever. It's that simple."
He added: "Mickey is really quite free, because his life only revolved around having relationships with women. That's the only thing he had in his life. He should have treasured [opportunities given to him]. He is so ugly, can't sing and has no talents. With the opportunities that he had, he should have treasured them and be thankful!
"How will he have the face to return? If I were him, I would even change my surname."
Jacky also shared that he had retracted his lawsuit with Mickey at the moment because he heard of the severity of the latter's injuries.
"You still want to think about a comeback? Don't come back anymore, please."
When asked if he would forgive Mickey if he personally apologised to him someday, Jacky said: "Yes, I would, and I will also advise him as a friend, 'You should go and do something useful, maybe go and drive Uber or something. Restart your life again.'"
Jacky was also asked to comment about Jeffery Hsu and Nono, who were also revealed by other women to have sexually harassed or assaulted them before.
Jacky shared that he won't comment about Nono as he had left his company over a decade ago and "wish him all the best".
Jacky shared that Jeffery's accusations revolved around behaviour such as being cheeky around women.
"It's not really related to sexual harassment or sexual assault. But this situation (MeToo movement) has never really happened in Taiwan before, so when the news came out, he announced that he was quitting showbiz. If he wants to come back, he can," Jacky explained, adding that if Nono is not legally charged, he can also return.
When AsiaOne asked if there are actually more celebrities involved in the Taiwanese MeToo movement who haven't been revealed yet, Jacky said: "Sure! Of course! We know who's who… But in showbiz, those who know more can only reveal less."
As to whether there would be more of them being outed in the future, he shared: "Time will tell, I believe."
Jacky will appear on a Shopee livestream again at 8.30pm today.
No part of this article can be reproduced without permission from AsiaOne.