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If there’s one thing we’ve learned from the many Ip Man movies, it’s not to mess with its protagonist Donnie Yen.
Last week, a Chinese film company posted an apology online to the Hong Kong action star after he won a defamation lawsuit against him.
“It was not intentional and it was a misunderstanding. We express our deepest apologies to Donnie and his fans,” the company wrote in its letter of apology.
The whole buzz started when Donnie’s 2018 film Iceman: The Time Traveler grossed just $ 6.7 million in China within 10 days of its release, The Straits Times reported.
West Movie Group then wrote a post on their official Weibo account, blaming Donnie for the box office failure. He accused him of changing the script on a whim, interfering with the action choreographer’s work and refusing to participate in promotional activities.
In response, Donnie, now 57, wrote a 2,000-word post to defend himself, calling the accusations “unfounded” and “malicious,” adding that he would take legal action to “protect his rights.”
The actor also questioned why his reputation was tainted, as there had been no prior complaints from producers after the premiere of the first Iceman movie in 2014.
The court recently ordered the film company to post a letter of apology on its Weibo account and for the letter to remain online for 30 consecutive days. Failure to do so will result in a 500,000 yuan (S $ 100,000) compensation for Donnie.
“We hope that both parties can clear up the misunderstanding between us and continue to work together in the future, to produce more interesting projects for our audience,” the apology read.
After winning the case, Donnie’s agency released a statement on October 16, alleging that the film company fabricated facts to smear and discredit Donnie in order to draw attention to the film.
He added: “Although the apology cannot compensate Donnie for damage to his reputation after the incident, we respect the judgment of the court.”
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