PUBLISHED ONJune 21, 2023 8:19 AMByYeo Shu HuiJust when you thought that Mickey Huang's sexual allegations and shocking revelations about multiple Taiwanese big names and their wrongdoings is enough for you to digest for a while, here comes another wave of fresh revelations.
This time, it is Taiwanese singer-actor Aaron Yan who's in the spotlight.
Internet celebrity Yao Le held a press conference in Taipei at noon today (June 21), which was also livestreamed on YouTube, to clarify his Instagram post yesterday about his relationship with Aaron.
At the event, he said he met Aaron in 2017 and was 16 years old at the time. Just as Yao Le, now 22, was about to continue, the media turned in the direction of the entrance and cameras started flashing.
Aaron, dressed in a white shirt and grey baseball hat, entered the venue. When Yao Le saw the former Fahrenheit boy band member, he looked scared for a moment as he looked down at the table, refusing eye contact.
Aaron walked towards him and Yao Le rested his head on the table.
Facing Yao Le, Aaron spoke to him briefly for a while — the content could not be heard — before bowing to him for at least 20 seconds. Over the loud shouting of furious cameramen trying to get the best shot, Aaron could be heard saying: "I just want to apologise to you here… I am sorry."
The press asked Aaron, 37, to speak through the microphone and face the cameras.
Using the mic, Aaron said: "I wanted to apologise to him, so I think it's better if I face him."
He continued: "I wanted to sincerely apologise to you here, for letting you face situations that you shouldn't have to handle at your age. I am really sorry. I am sorry."
Aaron bowed to Yao Le again.
He added: "It's your press conference today, I think that you would have a lot of things to say, so I will leave the time for you to speak. If you have other questions later, I will respond to you, or if you want to contact me, you can do so too. Thank you."
Turning away from Yao Le, Aaron left the press event. The former then briefly left the room.
In an Instagram post yesterday evening, Yao Le said that he had a sexual relationship with Aaron when he was 16 years old.
He said that he first befriended Aaron on social media, when the latter accidentally revealed his private profile while having a heated argument with Taiwanese singer Nick Chou in the comments section. It was believed that he was referring to the spat between the two singers in 2017 while Nick was filming the drama Love, Timeless.
Yao Le, who was a student and living alone in Taipei then, wrote on his post: "You started chatting with me and invited me to your home to watch Netflix. In my heart, I thought that I was dreaming. You are a famous idol and someone that I really liked when I was young.
"Who knew that you would be chatting with me one day and want to develop a relationship further with me."
Yao Le also wrote: "I gave my virginity to you when I was 16 years old. During the period, you tried to take videos of us during sex and that was my limit. I refused and you pinky-swore that you would not do it again.
"You often woke up earlier and penetrated me while I was sleeping, without considering my feelings."
According to the Taipei City Police Department, the minimum age of consent to engage in sexual relations is 16 years old.
As he was young at the time, Yao Le thought that was "just the way when lovers are together".
"The scariest thing is that while I wasn't paying attention, you continued to take videos with your phone, which resulted in what happened later that ruined my life," Yao Le shared.
During their relationship, Yao Le said that he would often receive calls in the middle of the night from other men that Aaron was allegedly also dating at the time, questioning his relationship with the star and claiming they are Aaron's "actual boyfriends".
Yao Le said they broke up about half a year later.
Yao Le also wrote about the time when his private sex video with Aaron was leaked in 2018.
He wrote: "I was very angry, furious and helpless. You just told me briefly that you don't know how it got out."
Yao Le also claimed that Aaron told him he would take care of the matter. However, Yao Le said he was alone in facing gossip and criticism in his school and on the internet.
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He added that Aaron told him he had done his best to settle the matter before leaving him a few thousand dollars to pay for the lawyer fees as well as some compensation money.
Yao Le added he has no intention of seeking attention through his post as he would have done so earlier if that is what he wanted.
However, he said he has been thinking about the incident constantly over the past five years and recent allegations against celebrities made him decide to speak up.
He ended the post with: "I really can't stand it anymore. It's your turn to come out and face it."
In response to Yao Le's revelations, Aaron made a Facebook post last night and signed it under his real name Wu Keng-lin.
He said that he was "not proud" of his past self and had "a lot of deviations and twisted ways" in his relationships. He added that throughout the years after the sex footage was leaked, he has been reflecting on himself.
"During that period, I seriously reflected on my problems and shortcomings and was determined to make myself a better person. These scars and ugliness will follow me for the rest of my life, I know very well and will never attempt to escape it," Aaron wrote.
When the press conference resumed, a reporter asked Yao Le how he felt about Aaron's apology earlier and he said: "I am not willing [to accept his apology]. I felt that his apology shouldn't have come only after I revealed his actions.
"I think this is a really sad point. He said in his post yesterday that he has been trying to change himself over the past few years, but change for what? Towards other victims? Or am I not important? Or what? I feel that to only apologise after the whole thing was revealed, the apology is not sincere and there is no need for that."
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