Chinese social media users are in a frenzy, speculating about the whereabouts of one of the country’s biggest film stars.
Fan Bingbing, 36, is one of the world’s highest-paid actors, and fans track her every move on China’s primary social media platform, Weibo.
But she hasn’t been seen in public since July 1, when she visited a children’s hospital.
The prolific social media user with 62 million followers has also been unusually silent on all platforms. The last time she was active was on Weibo on July 23.
Her “disappearance” (as it’s being called by her legion of fans) comes just a few months after TV host Cui Yongyuan appeared to accuse the actor of tax evasion.
The broadcaster hinted she had inked two so-called “yin-and-yang” contracts. According to AsiaOne, the allegation is that Fan has two contracts for her four-day work, with one for remuneration of 10 million yuan ($1.46 million) which was used to declare tax, while a secret contract with remuneration of 50 million yuan ($7.3 million) was signed in private.
Her studio has denied these allegations and Cui apologized, but concerned fans worry she may have been detained.
According to Chinese newspaper The Economic Observer, police in Jiangsu province are investigating, and Fan and her brother, Fan Chengcheng, are reportedly barred from leaving the country.
That article has since been removed from the website.
Since the tax scandal broke, Jing Daily reports that luxury houses like Guerlain, De Beers and Montblanc that have appointed Fan as their brand ambassador are cautiously observing the possible impact on their businesses, with all of them stopping engaging with her on social media.
Her Weibo and Instagram accounts have been bombarded with messages asking her to release a statement confirming she is OK.
According to the BBC, fans have been writing “We love you, Fan Bingbing” and “we are waiting for an answer.”
Media’s attempts to contact the star have been unsuccessful.
Known in the US mainly for her appearance in the “X-Men: Days of Future Past,” Fan is also a singer, model and TV host.
When Forbes dropped its annual ranking of the world’s highest-paid actresses in 2015, everyone was asking “who’s Fan Bingbing?” after she took the number four spot, trumping A-listers Jennifer Aniston, Julia Roberts and Angelina Jolie.
According to the more current 2017 Forbes China Celebrity List, Fan was the highest-earning Chinese celebrity in the last four years, earning 300 million yuan ($43.9 million) a year.
Her film career took off more than a decade ago with 2003’s megahit “Cell Phone,” for which she won best actress at the Hundred Flowers Awards (the Chinese equivalent of the Golden Globes).
She is also a regular on Vanity Fair’s International Best Dressed list.
Fan is due to appear alongside Marion Cotillard, Penelope Cruz and Lupita Nyong’o in Jessica Chastain’s female-led spy movie “355,” which is in pre-production.