In what could be considered as an anti-climax to Chinese reality show Youth With You, top contender Tony Yu Jingtian has walked out of the show, three days before the finale. His agency AstroMusic has confirmed the development citing a "personal health" issue for withdrawing himself from the competition.
Why is The Issue All About?
Tony Yu Jingtian has been hitting headlines for all the wrong reasons in the recent past although he has been winning people's hearts with performances. It all started with his parents being accused of involving in the drugs and prostitution business. This had put him in an embarrassing situation although they denied any links to illegal business.
To add salt to injury, his nationality issue landed him in trouble as he is reportedly holding dual citizenship of Canada and China. It angered the fans of the show who demanded his removal from the reality show on social media sites and the topic started trending on Weibo.
What came as a jolt to the show is the Beijing Municipal Radio and Television Bureau's order suspending Youth With You Season 3 from airing for failing to comply with broadcasting regulations.
Controversies Explained in Detail:
Rumours of his parents running an illegal business appeared on social media and his mother denied all the allegations. Tony Yu Jingtian's mother Li Qin admitted that the karaoke business was run by them along with a partner and the ownership transferred before they left to Canada in 2008. Thereafter, they had not involved in its operations.
She stated that the sloppy works while transferring the ownership have landed them in this situation. "We never thought that such business negligence many years ago would create so much harm for people who like our son. I and my husband are very sorry for this," South China Morning Post quotes him as saying. They will now be dealing with the rumour mongers, legally.
Dual Citizenship:
In the South Korean show Produce 101 in the year 2019, he had claimed that he was a citizen of Canada. However, in Youth With You Season 3, he said that he was a proud Chinese citizen. His contradicting statements created a lot of confusion, eventually exposing his dual citizenship.
Now, uncertainty has loomed over Youth With You Season 3 finale.
The show, with 119 trainees, was kick-started in February. It had contestants from many agencies and there are some participants from foreign countries too. The aim of the show is to form a nine-member male group through viewers' votes across the globe.
