Gillian Chung's fan apologises for accusing her husband Michael Lai of cheating

Hidden behind a veil of anonymity, a stranger on the interwebs furiously hammers away at a keyboard to blow the lid off the latest celebrity scoop.

The star in question? Gillian Chung, one-half of Cantopop duo Twins.

Just yesterday (Sept 2), accusations were levelled at Gillian's husband, 30-year-old doctor Michael Lai, that he was having an affair.

Media outlets scrambled to pick up the "scoop" because who doesn't love a good scandal?

In a cruel twist of fate (and a rather apt 'oh s***' moment), the news turned out to be false as the netizen who accused Michael made a public apology online today (Sept 3) by posting an image of a written letter on his Weibo account.

WHAT REALLY HAPPENED?

A Weibo user initially made a bold claim that the Taiwanese hunk was cheating on his 38-year-old singer-wife while she was out of town for work and had the 'receipts' to show for his alleged affair.

The "evidence" were a screengrab of Michael following a female influencer on Instagram and another of him during a Facetime session where he looked very flushed in his PJs. It was also asserted that he was putting on an act with Gillian when they appeared on a show previously.

When the accusations went viral, Gillian posted a message on Weibo that affirmed her belief in her husband's innocence. She also said that she won't entertain the rumours.

Michael echoed her sentiments and ended his message with a declaration of love for his wife.

TWO WORDS: FAKE NEWS

For reasons unknown, 'TanGuo_' proactively apologised to Gillian, Michael, and the female influencer that had been dragged into the furore.

He wrote that it was a friend of his who discovered that Michael had followed the female influencer on Instagram and that both of them were unaware that she was actually a patient at his aesthetic clinic.

As a knee-jerk reaction, they decided to send the screengrabs to the Weibo team.

"We didn't know that it would be posted on the platform. When we found out that it had been published, we immediately requested for the content to be removed and informed the team that there could be serious consequences.

"We pleaded for an hour but to no avail," the netizen claimed.

The duo felt extremely ashamed and apologised for their regrettable actions and the hurt that it has caused.

In response to this scandal, Michael put out a statement through his lawyer emphasising that his reputation has been damaged by these falsehoods.

An official warning was also given to stop the spread of the rumours or else legal action will be taken against those involved.

bryanlim@asiaone.com