‘You’re not loyal enough’: Eric Tsang recalls beef with superstar singer who refused to attend ribbon-cutting ceremony for friend's shop

Nobody likes it when a friend flakes on an agreed meeting.

TVB general manager and veteran actor Eric Tsang is no different, as he recently revealed on an episode of One From The Heart aired on Monday (Nov 14).

He recalled a falling-out he had many years ago with his “best friend and confidant” in show business over attending the ribbon-cutting ceremony of a mutual friend’s new shop.

“He was very popular back then, way more popular than me,” Eric, 69, added.

He revealed that the duo had agreed to attend the opening ceremony but one or two days before the event, his bestie called him up to say he wouldn’t be attending the event.

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“He said, ‘The shop we are going to is actually a sauna. I’m a singer and going to the ribbon-cutting ceremony for a sauna may affect my image. It’s different being a singer compared to you guys.” Eric recalled.

At the time, Eric was angry over the snub.

 “You’re not loyal enough,” he thought at the time.
 
With the pair not speaking to each other following this, Eric revealed that the incident almost ruined their friendship.

“It is already difficult to meet someone in life, but it is even more difficult to become friends and confidants,” Eric reflected. “So we should cherish each other even more.

“Were we really going to stop being friends over this incident?”

Wanting to be the more “magnanimous person” in the situation, Eric extended an olive branch to his friend and invited him out for tea.

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The duo managed to laugh and chat as usual during the meeting, mending their friendship. And when they talked about the incident again after some time, both were not upset about it at all. 

“What I want to share with the audience is that it’s not good to judge based on your own perspective,” Eric said at the end of the episode. 

“Deep friendships should be cherished, and [the moral of this story] could apply to other things as well. Otherwise you may miss out on a lot, or even give up things you shouldn’t have.” 

Although he didn’t reveal who this best friend is, Hong Kong publications believe he is veteran singer Alan Tam, 72. Both men have famously been very close friends for half their lives. 

drimac@asiaone.com

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