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Former TVB Actress Michelle Ye Says She “Had Tears In Her Eyes” When She Left The Company 15 Years Ago

She still has fond memories of her time there.

She still has fond memories of her time there.

She still has fond memories of her time there.

Former TVB actress Michelle Ye may have left the Hongkong broadcaster in 2005, but unlike Christy Chan and Auston Lam, the 40-year-old’s still on good terms with the company.

In a recent live stream, Michelle, who is based in China now, shared more about her split from TVB. The conversation first kicked off when a viewer asked Michelle to share her thoughts on Chinese singer Yamy’s recent post.

1 of 4 Oh, Yamy...

On July 21, Yamy released an audio recording of the CEO of her management agency, Xu Mingchao, insulting her appearance during a staff meeting. In the three-minute-long clip, Ming Chao can be heard ranting about the 28-year-old’s appearance, describing her as “really, really ugly” multiple times, and insisting for the rest of the staff to agree with him.

In his response, Mingchao revealed that Yamy had sent in notice of her intention to terminate her contract with the company a week earlier, on July 10. He then went on to insinuate that the singer had released the audio recording to garner public support, and that “the person who sent you the audio recording must be trembling with fear right now”.

Although Michelle refrained from commenting directly on the issue, she did say that “the way someone speaks will reveal just how cultured they are, as well as their character, values and viewpoints”. She also added that she feels that Mingchao’s response was “a little forceful”.

2 of 4 Spilling tea on her socials

Michelle then went on to share that she had wanted to terminate her contract with TVB early as well, but eventually decided against it.

As it turns out, Michelle had been headhunted by Hongkong director Wong Jing while she was filming the 2005 drama, World’s Finest, as Wong Jing felt that she was more suited for the film industry.

“To be honest, at that time, the prospects for film was way better than television. When you act in movies, you’re considered a star, but when you film for television dramas, you’re merely an artiste. You’re treated considerably worse in all aspects, you also don't get recognised as much in public. Television dramas are free-to-air, while you’ll have to pay to watch movies. This is how it is in Hongkong, we’re very pragmatic [here],” she said.

3 of 4 Michelle's the boss of her own production company now

Even though the opportunity to jump ship was right in front of Michelle’s eyes, she opted to finish her contract with TVB, instead of breaking it.

“I chose not to break my contract prematurely ['cos] I can wait for two years, until the contract ends before joining the film company. I felt that TVB treated me very well, and I can’t just betray a promise that I made just 'cos there’s [an opportunity] for better career advancement in front of me. At that time, the boss of Media Asia Entertainment Group, [which owns Rich & Famous Talent Management Group Limited, Hongkong billionaire] Peter Lam, was very understanding. He told me that if I were to sign a contract with them, he’ll pay me a fee in advance, so that I could pay my mortgage,” she revealed.

Michelle also went on to share that while she felt that it was fine not to renew a contract once it had lapsed, it was not appropriate to terminate a contract prematurely just ‘cos a better opportunity came up. She said that she is very grateful to TVB for creating the historical drama The Herbalist's Manual just for her, and that she “had tears in her eyes” when the time came for her to leave the company.

4 of 4 Nothing but fond memories

However, no matter how reluctant she was to leave, the time eventually came for Michelle to discuss the renewal of her contract with TVB executive Virginia Lok.

“She might have heard some rumours, which was why she asked me to continue on for a few more years, but I told her very apologetically that I would not be continuing my contract. [Virginia] asked me for a reason, but I didn’t think it’ll be nice of me to reveal the name of the company, so I said it was for personal reasons,” Michelle said.

Photos: PBE Media, Yamy/Weibo, Michelle Ye/Weibo

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