18 February 2008
Alex Au / Gerry Ho
Edison Chen (陳冠希), the central figure in the sex photos scandal that has rocked Hong Kong showbiz, has had another job axed, Sing Tao Daily, a Hong Kong newspaper, reported today.
Edison was signed as one of the faces of EPS, Hong Kong's local version of Visa or MasterCard, in their latest advertising campaign. However, recently, billboards featuring Edison were removed from prominent positions in Causeway Bay, Mong Kok and Hong Kong Station, reported Sing Tao Daily.
The newspaper also reported that Edison's part in EPS's TV commercial had been cut.
The EPS campaign is also fronted by Charlene Choi (蔡卓妍), Jan Lamb (林海峰) and Wyman Wong (黄伟文) .
Although there were reports that Edison had his advertisements for Manhattan Titanium, a credit card, pulled as a result of the scandal, a spokesperson for the company later said that the campaign was only ever scheduled for a month and had been ended as planned and not because of recent events.
Earlier this month, Edison was cut from an upcoming movie. Columbia Pictures announced that its film Jump <跳出去>, a joint production with Stephen Chow (周星馳)'s company Star Overseas, which was due for release 1 May, had been put back until 1 October. The Hong Kong-made film was to star Edison alongside Kitty Zhang (張雨綺).
Sing Tao Daily estimated that the scandal could cost Edison, who was seen as one of the coolest entertainers in Hong Kong showbiz, HK$10m a year in work and endorsements.
The newspaper quoted lawyers who said that companies could easily end endorsement contracts because these always have clauses requiring a star to maintain a certain image. The legal sources added that, as well as not paying up fees, companies could sue a star for damages, but this is unlikely and disputes are usually settled out of court.
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