More legal problems for Chinese actress Zheng Shuang after 'surrogacy gate'

On 6 January 2023, CBS News posted a surprising update about the disgraced star Zheng Shuang and her surrogacy and child custody scandal. The actress is now accused of domestic abuse by her ex, Zhang Heng. What happened?

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In a televised interview with CBS News, Zhang Heng publicly accused Zheng Shuang of abusing her two children. He exclaimed that his children would constantly come home with injuries after leaving her home, and her explanation for the injuries would always be inconsistent.

Zhang Heng also reported that his children had grown terrified of their mother, Zheng Shuang, and would beg to stay at home following their visits.

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In response, Zheng Shuang's legal team denied the accusations of abuse and neglect and asserted that the allegations only began after Zhang Heng's legal petition to reduce his ex's custodial rights was rejected.

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The allegations are yet another episode in the ongoing fight between Zheng Shuang and her ex, in which their two children have been contested from the start. Let's have a look at Zheng Shuang's background and see how she went from being a superstar in China to a pariah in the U.S.

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Zheng Shuang, a Chinese actress and singer, was born in 1991 in Liaoning, China and trained at the Beijing Film Academy. She joined the ranks of fellow Chinese big-name stars like Zhao Wei and Chen Kun as notable alumni of the college.

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In 2009, Zheng Shuang debuted onscreen in Hunan TV’s 'Meteor Shower,' a Chinese remake of the Taiwanese TV drama ‘Meteor Garden.’ Zheng Shuang played the female lead Chu Yuxun, and the popularity of the Taiwanese original translated into the Chinese adaptation helped spur the actress into mega-stardom.

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Along with the acting role, Zheng Shuang was also involved in the production of the soundtrack of 'Meteor Shower.' She sang 'Love’s Waltz' in a romantic duet with male lead Yu Haoming. In addition, Zheng Shuang went on to sing for several other productions she later starred in.

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Zheng Shuang did not just stop at singing and acting. The multi-talented star also went on to produce an autobiography titled ‘Zheng Shuang’s Book.’

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Zheng Shuang also starred as a half-fox demon and half-human Xiang Ling in the 2014 hit drama 'Swords of Legends,' and in the time-traveling drama 'Love Weaves Through A Millennium' as the lead female Lin Xiangxiang.

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Zheng Shuang's acting earned her many awards, most notably the 'Young Marketable Actress' award at the 11th China TV Drama Awards in 2019.

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With her talent and popularity, Zheng Shuang became lauded by netizens in China as one of the Four Dan Actresses of the post-90s Generation. Along with her in that group are actresses Zhou Dongyu, Yang Zi, and Guan Xiaotong.

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Putting her singing skills to work, Zheng Shuang sang 'With You by My Side' to raise funds to support Chinese citizens affected by the coronavirus.

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Given her popularity and beauty, many brands hired Zheng Shuang as the face of their brand.

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One of her biggest endorsement deals was with Italian luxury fashion brand Prada. The decision was announced on January 11, 2021 and Zheng Shuang was named the Chinese brand ambassador for Prada.

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Despite her illustrious career, Zheng Shuang is a relatively private person and seldom posts updates on her personal life. However, the actress’s romantic exploits were never hidden from the public. She dated Chinese singer-songwriter Tiger Hu and 'Meteor Shower' lead co-star Hans Zhang, for example.

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Most recently, the actress was linked to TV show producer Zhang Heng. And that's where here private life became the object of gossip.

Yahoo.com reported that the pair met in 2018 during the filming of 'This is Fighting Robots,' a robot fighting competition hosted on Youku. Zhang later became Zheng's manager whilst the two were dating.

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The couple's relationship soon turned rocky with the pair mixing personal life with business. From Jaynestars.com, Zheng sued Zhang in 2020 for borrowing 20 million yuan under her name for personal use.

The two broke up after dating for more than a year. Ettoday reported that Zheng was in a rush to sell off her now ex-boyfriend’s clothes through a resale website, indicating that the split was less than amicable.

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In January 2021, Chinese news outlet Netease Entertainment released two children’s birth certificates, naming Zheng Shuang and Zhang Heng as the children's legal parents.

After this news, Zhang Heng posted a revelation on Weibo indicating that he had been stuck in the United States caring for his and Zheng's two surrogate children. Zhang also accused Zheng of abandoning the children.

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An audio recording was leaked to the media where Zheng allegedly discussed the matter of her then-unborn children with her parents. Today Online cited Zheng’s mother in the recording, allegedly recommending giving the children up for adoption.

Zheng herself said that it was too late to abort the children, with the surrogate mothers being seven months pregnant. The actress also allegedly said that she and Zhang could always have more children to replace the two surrogates if they were to be given up.

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Netizens online lashed out at the starlet for implicating two innocent children in the couple’s spat with one another. They also denounced the actress for trivializing the sanctity of human life by turning to surrogacy to birth her children, and for her alleged decision to abandon them at the drop of a hat.

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On Weibo, Zheng defended herself by accusing Zhang of cheating on her in 2019. Her father also chimed in, alleging that Zhang and his family were using the situation to take advantage of his daughter’s fame and wealth.

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In response to the revelations, Prada dropped Zheng Shuang from the position of their Chinese brand ambassador and terminated all contracts with her on the brand's official Weibo.

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The Straits Times reported that along with Prada, several brands terminated their relationship with Zheng Shuang following the scandal. The brands included London jewelry brand Lola Rose, Chinese cosmetic brand Chioture, and hair care brand Aussie.

Harper’s Bazaar and Modern Weekly also reacted by deleting media that featured the actress.

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Sohu reported that China’s State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television officially banned Zheng Shuang from Chinese media. Naming the actress, the state government declared that they would take a tough stand on the matter and refuse opportunities to "bad moral influences" like Zheng Shuang.

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Meanwhile, businesswire.com reported that the Huading awards committee decided to revoke all of the actress's previously earned titles from the prestigious Huading Awards.

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With the Chinese government intervening and also the huge public backlash from the surrogacy scandal, Zheng Shuang had no more avenues to continue in the Chinese entertainment world.

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In June 2022, KBIZoom reported that Zheng Shuang had moved to the US with her pet dog after deciding that it would be better than living there than in China, where she was blacklisted in showbiz.

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The same report noted that the ex-megastar had future plans for starting a new career as a YouTuber and had taken a turnaround in wanting to be a better parent to her estranged children.

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As a condition for being granted visitation rights and a chance at the custody of her children, Zheng Shuang had to attend mandatory parenting lessons on the order of the US judicial court, reported Today.

(Image: Beijing Antaeus Film)

Finally, in a surprising update in 2023 by CBS News, Zheng Shuang was accused to have committed domestic violence against her children. If the accusations by her ex, Zhang Heng, are true, Zhen Shuang has unfortunately not succeeded in being the good parent she wanted to be.

(Image: Hunan TV)