Former table tennis champion Zhang Jike is said to have sent private videos of his then celebrity partner. He denies the accusation.
Chinese Olympic gold medalist Zhang Jike has been accused of using intimate videos of his former girlfriend to buy more time to pay off his debts, according to allegations on social media that have been confirmed by a reputed journalist.
Award-winning journalist Li Weiao said that the allegations that Jike was sending the videos to one of his creditors were “true,” according to a Fridaypost on the microblogging site Weibo. The now-retired table tennis player is said to have shared the videos of actress Jing Tian, who he was dating at the time, after the couple split.
The nature of the videos in question is unclear and there are also no details on how Zhang tried to benefit from them. On Friday, Zhang’s representatives denied the allegations that claimed the sports star had a gambling addiction and used his ex-girlfriend’s videos to try pay off debts.
The 35-year-old retired player was regarded as a national hero after winning two gold medals at the 2012 London Olympics. He has accumulated millions of fans on social media, where he often posted videos of his career highlights and interacted with fans.
In a separate post on WeChat published Sunday, Li, who now works at the Economic Observer newspaper, said Zhang has debts of 22 million yuan ($31 million) with a creditor, to whom he sent the videos. Zhang reportedly told the creditor that he had joint property with the actress. Continue to read the full article here
– This article originally appeared on Sixth Tone
