The 25-year-old’s agency has apologized on social media and announced the indefinite suspension of his projects.
A popular television personality is at risk of being banned from China’s entertainment industry over a pending drug charge.
In a statement Wednesday, police in Shanghai said that a 25-year-old drug user surnamed Ai had been apprehended on suspicion of illegal drug use. Local media later reported that the suspect is a comedian and talk show host known by the stage name Kamu — his Turkic name doesn’t translate well to Mandarin or English — and the city’s prosecutor plans to charge him with “providing a venue for the consumption of drugs,” which typically implies the suspect’s own use of drugs, too.
As a television personality with Shanghai Xiao Guo Culture Media Co. Ltd., a leading entertainment agency representing a number of well-known talk show performers, Kamu has participated in the popular debate competition “I Can I BB” as well as the insult comedy series “Roast Convention.”
In a post Wednesday on microblogging platform Weibo, Kamu’s agency apologized and said the comedian’s projects would be suspended indefinitely.
“Involvement with drugs not only touches the red line of the law, but also touches the bottom line of social morality,” the statement read. “We are deeply saddened by and regretful of this kind of behavior, and have decided to terminate all of Kamu’s work. We hope he will deeply reflect on, and take practical steps to atone for, the adverse social impact of his behavior.”
The news has attracted attention on Weibo, where a hashtag about Kamu’s arrest had received around 1.2 billion views by Friday afternoon. Continue to read the full article here
– This article originally appeared on Sixth Tone.
