(Above, left) Esther has recently been hit with damaging revelations that have shattered her “sweet girl” image, while Rosy has been working on her fashion business while enjoying her freedom from filming commitments.
Post-95 flower Esther Yu (虞書欣) has recently been caught up in a string of controversies. She was first accused of bullying and acting like a diva, and soon after, her family’s company was exposed for suspected tax evasion and collusion with officials — the crushing weight of negative publicity causing her to lose nearly one million followers on social media!
Sweet Girl Image Under Threat
A brand livestream event scheduled for yesterday was abruptly canceled. Other endorsement deals are now at risk, leaving her career in crisis.
The actress has long been compared to fellow “sweet romance goddess” Rosy Zhao (趙露思), with the two often locked in rivalry. Earlier, when Zhao Lusi reportedly fell out with her company and faced a lull in work, many thought Esther might take over her resources and benefit from the situation. But instead, she has recently been hit with damaging revelations that have shattered her “sweet girl” image.
Mainland actress Zhang Haoyue (張昊玥) recently revisited an old incident, alleging that when they filmed the reality show Grade One Graduation <一年級．畢業季> nine years ago, Yu publicly bullied her with verbal insults, even mocking her by saying she looked like a “Spider Spirit.” Following this, past rumors of Yu’s diva-like behavior resurfaced. Although some staff members tried to defend her online, their comments backfired, with netizens suspecting Yu had hired paid commenters to whitewash her image.
Just as one scandal broke, another followed. It is well-known that Yu’s family has deep pockets, running mining and other businesses. But recently, a finance blogger posted a video questioning why Yu’s father Yu Pijie’s (虞丕杰) company paid taxes at a rate far lower than industry peers—raising suspicions of tax evasion, falsified accounts, and even official-business collusion and possible loan-sharking.
Netizens also dug up a 2019 video posted by Yu, showing her father buying her a luxury handbag in a designer store with cash. At the time, he had been blacklisted for failing to repay debts and was subject to a high-consumption restriction order. Netizens speculated that he deliberately used cash payments to evade financial monitoring, sparking heated debate.
Endorsements on thin ice
Esther’s commercial work has also been impacted: a brand livestream appearance scheduled for last night was suddenly postponed by the company yesterday afternoon. In another case, during a livestream for a brand Yu endorses, a flood of netizens swarmed the chat with negative news about her, forcing the broadcast to end early. Some viewers even questioned when Yu’s contract with the brand would expire. In response, one cosmetics brand clarified that their collaboration with Yu had already ended, while a yogurt brand deleted all content related to her from its platforms and stated, “We are aware of the situation and are conducting an internal review.”
Meanwhile, Yu’s upcoming drama A Journey to Glow <一念江南>, co-starring Wang Anyu (王安宇), was originally scheduled to start filming in Anhui on September 11. However, rumors now suggest the production has been postponed. Although Yu’s team has denied this, insisting filming will proceed as planned, whether the drama will ultimately be affected by the scandal remains uncertain.
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