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Pop Stop

Who's the Mack? PHOTO:TAIPEI TIMES

The cold weather during the Lunar New Year cooled pop gossip and it warms the heart to think that, like us, most celebrities have been staying at home, watching TV or playing Mahjong.

The big story over the New Year was the follow-up to the so-called "Chocolate incident." On front pages everywhere around the middle of the month, former ICRT DJ Charles Mack was accused by his Taiwanese wife of raping two men and spreading syphilis. Mack, nicknamed Chocolate (巧克力) in Chinese, struck back in public a few days later by appearing on TV showing a medical report -- supposedly confirming that his disease had cleared up -- and denying the rape allegations. He did not, however, deny being gay and reportedly told the Apple Daily (蘋果日報), "Please don't mention my wife, I don't want to hear her name anymore."

Whatever the truth of the situation, the Chocolate incident has made African-American men the victims of TV gossip and the butt of comedians on variety shows. On his own special New Year program, Chang Fei (張菲) pointed out the drummer of rock band Shin (信樂團) (who is black) and asked, "Are you Chocolate?" Before the drummer could reply, the other guests immediately freaked out, looked at him and were heard to mutter, "Oh-my-god, Chocolate!"

Ru Hua is looking good. PHOTO: TAIPEI TIMES

In Hong Kong, the suspected love affair between Cecilia Cheung (張柏芝) and Jordan Chan (陳小春) is sill incubating. In the past year, Cheung has experienced a few upsets that have undermined her public image, including lashing out at reporters by calling them stupid and wearing gaudy clothes which drove the media to speculate about her emotional stability. But Chan has always stayed true to Cheung and during the New Year they held a joint concert in Las Vegas. After the 90-minute show, Cheung and Chan held hands as they walked off stage, ignoring the encores from the audience, according to the Hong Kong Apple Daily. Last year Cheung and Chan were caught by paparazzi at a beach in Thailand, rubbing each other's backs with suntan lotion. They both denied the love affair. Maybe this time, it's for real.

Back in Taiwan, an appearance-challenged comedienne turned herself into a gossip queen last week. Ru Hua (如花), or "Like a Flower," appears on Jacky Wu's (吳宗憲) TV variety show to punish or scare off guest artists who perform badly in games on the show. She stumbles awkwardly on stage, has water poured over her head and even had her face rammed against a wall -- all for a good cause: fame. It seems there is nothing the 23-year-old entertainer will not do. Her humiliating jokes have, however, boosted ratings on Wu's show, which is now No. 1 in the TV rankings. Next Magazine (壹周刊) opined the show was ripping her off and exploiting her naivete. Ru is paid NT$ 5,000 a month. Her agent said he plans to ask for higher pay from the production company. About time, says Pop Stop, but Ru doesn't seem to care. "I have people asking for autographs and pictures. You should be happy for me," she told the papers.

Finally, Lily Tien (田麗) is again making Taiwanese women jealous. Not because of her fantastic body (she is 37 years old), but because of her vigorous Shanghai businessman husband Chen Ting-chung (陳定中), who is a legend in his own lifetime because of his supposed "hei xiu" (sex ability). Chen returns home every two weeks and according to Next Magazine spends up to eight hours doing the business. "We care about quality more than quantity," Tien told the magazine, but in the next issue Tien backtracked: "I never said it was eight hours, or eight times." Her husband also took aim at the magazine by saying, "This is making our relationship look so cheap!"
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