What Happened to Actor-Musician Kris Wu? Inside His Former Career and Legal Issues

Chinese actor-turned-musician Kris Wu reached career success as an international star in a collection of box-office hits in China, and also due to his stint as a member of the boy band Exo.

Things for Kris came to a shocking and screeching halt when he found himself in the middle of serious legal issues that stopped his career in its tracks. Find out what exactly happened.

In November 2022, Kris Wu was sentenced to 13 years in a Chinese prison due to multiple allegations of rape, according to CNN.

Per Beijing’s Chaoyang District People’s Court, Kris raped three women between November 2020 and December 2020 at his home “while ​the women were unable, or did not know how, to resist due to alcohol intoxication.”

In addition to the 2020 offenses, Kris also reportedly coerced two other women to participate in “promiscuous activities” ​while the women were under the influence of alcohol in July 2018.

Kris was convicted of the charges of rape and assembling a crowd to engage in promiscuous activities, per the outlet.

He was initially sentenced to just under 12 years in prison for the rape charge and 22 months for the secondary charge. The Chaoyang District People’s Court agreed to give Kris a fixed-term sentence of 13 years, which he is currently serving.

Upon the completion of his prison sentence, Kris will be deported back to Canada.

A year after he was sentenced on rape charges, Kris filed an appeal with the Third Intermediate People’s Court, and it was formally denied in November 2023, according to Reuters.

"Wu violated the will of women and took advantage of the drunkenness of multiple victims to have sexual relations with them. His behaviour constituted the crime of rape," the court said of his appeal in a statement, per the outlet.

Months before his appeal decision, the Canadian government said that its diplomats had been denied access to attend Kris’s trial.

However, officials in Beijing stated that the embassy had notified Canadian officials prior to the start of the appeal trial that the proceedings were not open to the public in an effort to protect Kris’s victims.

"The Government of Canada is aware that a final decision was rendered in the case," Jeremie Berube, spokesperson at Global Affairs Canada, said at the time of the appeal’s denial.

In a statement to Reuters, Canadian consular officials said they have been actively engaged in Kris’s case and will continue to provide assistance to both Kris and his family for the foreseeable future.

In addition to starring in such Chinese hits like Mr. Six and The Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back, Kris officially made his Hollywood movie debut in 2017 when he co-starred in XXX: Return of Xander Cage. He also had a host of high-profile endorsement deals with luxury brands such as Porsche, Louis Vuitton, and Bulgari.