'I gritted my teeth': Celest Chong recounts being sexually harassed by director
Celest Chong on Capital 958 for an interview.
PHOTO: Screengrab/TikTok/Celest Chong
PUBLISHED ONAugust 28, 2024 8:48 AMByDrima ChakrabortyCelest Chong's career has spanned over two decades in Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Canada, and during that time she has faced setbacks and difficult situations.
She once had to shoot 18 scenes in a day for a production and, on another occasion, had to pay her own medical bills after getting injured on set.
In a recent interview with Capital 958 DJ Raymond Foong, the singer-actress was asked whether she'd had experiences overseas that tested her and pushed her boundaries.
Celest said: "Definitely. One director asked me to audition repeatedly, and in the end, asked if I could go completely nude. I said there was no need for that looking at the script, and that my limit was baring my back."
She then discussed what appeared to be a separate incident with another director who sexually harassed her, including asking her out after work.
"Previously when I was filming a drama series, the director kept sexually harassing me. It was very tough filming the show and I was alone," she said.
"He wanted me to share a room with him, have my meals with him and drink with him. I had to work around 18 hours a day, where would I have the time to do such frivolous things with him? I was already so busy with filming.
"But I gritted my teeth. During filming, he told me that he had fallen in love with me and couldn't continue working. I was angry."
Celest added she told the director firmly that she would not go out with him unless it was related to work, after which he told her she hadn't memorised her lines well and to go over to his room — where he had prepared snacks and alcohol — to practise with him.
She left after practising for two hours and didn't drink, telling him that her face would get puffy if she did so.
"If I wasn't especially nice to him on a particular day, he would be unpleasant towards me," she said.
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She recounted that she had a crying scene that he made her shoot 18 times, telling her to "wipe it away and do it again".
"If you want to waste the production team's time, I'm okay with it," she added. "I'm a professional actress, I can do it. I can film the scene as many times as you want, even 100 times."
When Raymond added that Celest seemed quite headstrong, she agreed.
"I'm very obstinate, I'm principled in my stubbornness," she responded. "When you are filming, especially when you are the first female lead, the entire production crew is looking at you.
"If you throw a tantrum or have a mental breakdown, you would be wasting the production costs and the crew's energy."
Celest added that she had to coax the director into working during the few months of filming. But on the last day of filming, she scolded him in his car for an hour.
"I'm not your girlfriend, I never said I liked you," she recounted telling him. "Why were you so unprofessional during filming? Do you know how you made things difficult for me?"
He had to write her an apology letter afterwards.
Celest uploaded a portion of the interview on social media, captioning it: "Saying no to work harassment."
Netizens commented in support of her, commenting: "Steady lah!" and "It's over now, tomorrow will be better".
"Did the director not have any family to accompany him? I got angry after listening to this," a netizen wrote.
Celest responded: "At that time, it was decided that I give him some attention and that was that. It's okay, he apologised later. It was really hard surviving through that period, but thank you for feeling angry for me."
In the interview with Raymond, she also talked about her plans to hold a course for teens and adults interested in showbiz, be it in acting, music or modelling, and that details will be provided in her Instagram account later on.
When asked what principles aspirants should have when they join the industry, she replied: "Know yourself, be yourself. It sounds very simple but the journey is filled with challenges and takes a long time.
"It's also a journey getting to really know yourself and learning how to experience the sweetest joy."
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Additional reporting by Kwok Kar Peng.
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