 |
| Yu Zheng (Left) Blames Fans, Not Chen Zheyuan (Right), Amid Royal Court Ballad Backlash (Sohu) |
Controversial drama producer Yu Zheng is back at it again—this time taking to the comment section on 19 June 2025 to clap back at critics in the ongoing Royal Court Ballad mess. And while he technically didn’t drop names, the online crowd didn’t need much to read between the lines.
For those out of the loop, the drama has been caught in a whirlwind of behind-the-scenes drama after Yu’s 16 June livestream, where he suggested that a certain “investor-backed male lead” refused to take second billing under actress Wu Jinyan.
Although he never mentioned Chen Zheyuan directly, media outlets like Sohu weren’t shy about connecting the dots—and let’s just say, netizens ran with it.
Fast forward to his latest comment, Yu Zheng wrote:
“First of all, I didn’t target the male lead. I just couldn’t stand the noise from his fans.”
He went on to explain that the fate of the production has nothing to do with the actor, who had already signed the contract. Instead, he says the holdup is whether the team agrees to sign a new supplementary agreement.
“Whether we can move forward now depends on whether we’re willing to sign a new agreement—not the male lead who already signed,” Yu clarified, while also saying that the role casting has been adjusted for the “overall situation”.
“Can’t I tell the truth?” he added, a bit pointedly.
 |
And he wasn’t done there. Pushing back against claims that Royal Court Ballad is a “three-no” drama—a label for low-quality productions with no script, no budget, and no professional team—Yu Zheng wrote:
“We never said this was a 'three-no' drama. We would never accept something like that.”
But the damage may already be done. Chen Zheyuan's name is now firmly in the public crosshairs, with opinions flying all over social media.
Related: C-Drama Top Billing Dispute Explained
While some fans are jumping to his defence—pointing out that he’s taken second-lead roles before and could just be stuck in the middle of investor-vs-producer politics—others are less sympathetic.
Accusations of him acting like a “Crown Prince” and disrespecting Wu Jinyan’s seniority have been floating around, muddying the waters even more.
Instead of calming things down, Yu Zheng’s latest remarks have only shifted the focus—from the actor to his fanbase, whom he now blames for stirring the pot in the first place.
As of now, Chen Zheyuan himself hasn’t commented publicly on any of this, leaving fans to speculate and debate in circles.