Taiwanese host Jeffery Hsu, accused of sexually harassing female theatre student and other actresses, quits showbiz

Jeffery Hsu has left Taiwan showbiz following a string of sexual harassment accusations.

The 57-year-old Taiwan TV host announced along with an apology in a Facebook post on Wednesday (June 14).

He wrote: "I'm quitting the entertainment industry as of today. I will stop all public activities and reflect on myself. I sincerely apologise." 

Jeffery was most recently accused of harassing a student in a drama class organised by Taiwanese director Wang Shaudi, Lianhe Zaobao reported today (June 16).

He had allegedly told a female student: "You're too hot, the young men who get close to you are looking to bed you… if I were 10 years younger, I would want to sleep with you too!"

Jeffery's alleged misdeeds came to light after he purportedly made students in his acting class verbally simulate "group sex".

Actress Tannie Huang then claimed that Jeffery had harassed her about 10 years ago, Taiwan media reported on Thursday.

Tannie, 32, shared that she was performing in a drama and had to wear only a bra on her upper body as part of a samba dance outfit.

Jeffery then allegedly approached her and gestured at her cleavage with a bar of chocolate in hand and said: "Can you hold on to this?"

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He had also allegedly told Tannie that her performances lacked sexiness before showing her suggestive images on his phone and explaining what "sexy" meant.

His 'lessons' didn't end there as Tannie revealed that Jeffery reportedly requested her to purchase three sets of revealing clothes to show him. He purportedly also asked her many times after: "Where's your homework on sexiness?"

Actress-model Hu Xin-yi, also known as Sammie, reportedly outed that she was a victim of Jeffery as well.

"Jeffery told me after an acting class that there was an opportunity to become the female lead… he said the candidates for the role hadn't been finalised yet and hoped to give me a chance."

Sammie, 31, claimed that Jeffery had shown her to a small room where he told her to remove her shirt. Thinking it was part of the audition, she obliged.

"He said, 'Your breasts look like tofu, are they fake?' I answered 'No' in embarrassment, and he asked if he could touch them.

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"I was so scared, I was petrified," Sammie said.

She added: "I could only let him achieve what he wanted to do."

After the 'audition' was completed, she did not receive any opportunity to take on the female lead role, Sammie revealed. 

It was only when the role was finalised that she realised she had been scammed.

khooyihang@asiaone.com