Louis Cheung loses all TVB work due to his wife’s disputes with the company

It has been rumored that because of his wife Kay Tse, Louis Cheung has been banned by TVB and ‘kicked out’ of all shows that he was originally scheduled to participate in. The first show he was kicked out of was the "Pok Oi Charity Gala" that took place last night – originally, his name was on the performers list, however it was removed last minute. Even though TVB insists that there is no ‘ban’ in place, TVB’s GM (who is rumored to be resigning due to falling out of favor with management) Stephen Chan admitted that for the second season of the game show "Book of Words", both hosts (who are also rumored to be his ‘favorites’) Louis as well as Patrick Tang will be replaced.

Due to the royalties dispute between the Big 4 record companies and TVB, Kay Tse has not been able to appear on any TVB programs. Throughout the situation, Kay has not only continued to outspokenly support her record company (Universal), she was also one of the first to accept an interview with i-Cable in Cantonese. In addition, right when her singers’ contract with TVB expired, she immediately appeared on one of i-Cable’s shows as musical guest and also made arrangements with ATV to appear on their shows – obviously not giving any ‘face’ to TVB. It was rumored that TVB’s Deputy Chairman Mona Fong (Sir Run Run Shaw’s wife) was extremely angered by this and as a result ordered a ban on both Kay and her husband Louis. Originally, Louis was set to host the second seasons of both "The Voice" and "Book of Words", however due to the ban, he has been removed from hosting duties of both shows.

Louis was originally scheduled to participate in yesterday’s charity event "Pok Oi Charity Gala", however his name was removed from the list last minute. The producer of the event (Lam Kar Wing) claimed that he had not heard of any ban on Louis and explained: “It is true that we did approach Louis about participating in the event since he is the Pok Oi ambassador, however Louis indicated that he had to check his schedule. A few days ago, the response was received from his side that he had to film a commercial, so he would not be able to attend the event.” When asked for clarification, Louis’ side was obviously not on the same page, as his management company explained that Louis was not able to participate in the event because he had numerous interviews and meetings that he had to attend over those few day [not because he had to film a commercial].

Asked about the rumors of Louis being banned, TVB’s GM Stephen Chan denied it, saying: “Variety show lineups change all the time; all I can say is that there is no ‘ban’ on Louis.” In terms of game show "Book of Words" changing hosts, he indicated it was already mentioned previously that for the second season of the show, they wanted to do something new and more refreshing, so they were already planning on changing the format as well as host. Plus, it’s not only Louis who will be replaced, Patrick will be as well. He re-emphasized that the royalties issue is between TVB and the record companies – there is no dispute with the artists, so there is no need to use words such as “animosity and enemies” to describe the relationship between TVB and the artists.

Yesterday, Louis Cheung accepted an interview with radio personality Eileen Cha Siu Yan. During the interview, he expressed that he doesn’t know how the whole ‘banned from TVB’ rumors came about. He said that his management company had sought clarification from TVB and they had confirmed that there was no ban in place, so if that’s the case, there is no point asking about it again! He also emphasized that he and his wife belong to different record companies and their careers have always been separate – they handle work-related matters separately and rarely ever talk about work at home. He said that personally, he is grateful to TVB for all the opportunities they had given him, especially last year when there was a lot of negative publicity surrounding him – because of the opportunities, more people recognized him. Therefore, to show his gratitude, he gives more than 100% effort on any work that TVB gives him. Even if right now he does not have any hosting duties, as an artist, he will still continue to learn things and improve himself, as it will only help him in his career down the road.

Source: Mingpao
Translation: llwy12 @ AsianFanatics