13-Year-Old Chinese Girl Apologises For “Deceiving The Fans” By Pretending To Be A Boy To Join A Boyband

In the story of Mulan, a young woman pretends to be a man in order to take her elderly father’s place in the army, and in South Korean drama You’re Beautiful, a girl disguises herself as her twin brother to join a boy band.

As it turns out, something like that actually happened in real life.

Recently, a netizen took to Weibo to expose Fu Jiayuan, a 13-year-old — some sources say 12 — former member of Chinese boy group YGN Youth Club, for... not being a boy.

After the news broke, Jiayuan apologised for “deceiving the fans” and posted an explanation on social media, saying that many companies had expressed their interest in signing her as an artiste, and she chose YGN Youth Club’s agency in the end.

However, the COVID-19 outbreak happened and she was unable to travel to the company in person. She then decided to conceal her own gender from the company as she was “young and ignorant”.

“This incident has affected my school life and my family,” she wrote. “Please delete your posts. I’m sorry to everyone who put their trust in me. I promise I will not show up in the entertainment industry nor on any short video platforms in the future.”

Jiayuan went on to clarify that she never actually joined any boy groups and was only part of their training camp.

“I am a girl,” she declared. “I apologise for my previous actions. I’m sorry.”

Yiguangnian Media, which manages YGN Youth Club, later released a statement of their own.

“Fu Jiayuan was a member of the second season of our winter training camp,” they wrote. “During the recruitment process, both parents and the child concealed her gender and claimed she was a boy. Due to the pandemic, the selection was done online.”

They continued, “Our staff were negligent in the work process. As of a few months ago, Fu Jiayuan is no longer in a contractual relationship with the company. In the future, we will adhere strictly to the company’s rules and regulations. Thank you for your attention and support for Yiguangnian Media.”

YGN Youth Club consists of very young members born after the year 2000 and has proven to be both very popular and controversial, not unlike what happened to Panda Boys, which had members debuting between the ages of seven and 11.

Photos: Weibo