Regarding the Chinese historical drama "Mo Li," which recently began streaming, the scriptwriter's claim that the entire team was replaced just before filming began, and the fact that the criticism was aimed at the lead actress, Bai Lu (白鹿), has become a hot topic of discussion.

"Mo Li," starring Bai Lu and Cheng Lei (丞磊), began streaming on September 9th on video streaming services Tencent Video and Disney+. Its "Heat Index" (熱度), which indicates the number of sponsors acquired and the drama's influence, topped all dramas streamed on Tencent Video this year.

On the 10th, scriptwriter Meng Qiqi (蒙淇淇) accused on Chinese social media Weibo that despite she and her team having spent a year writing the script, passing reviews, and holding numerous meetings with director Lin Yufen (林玉芬), they were removed just before filming began. She suggested that the lead actress Bai Lu's influence was behind this, and severely criticized her as "privileged class."

Furthermore, she expressed dissatisfaction with the credit given after the drama aired, pointing out that only "First Draft Team" was listed in the ending credits. She sarcastically noted that while many lead actors in the struggling film and television industry face issues like increased screen time for supporting roles or script changes, in Bai Lu's starring projects, "the entire script team is replaced" just before filming begins.

As the controversy escalated, Yu Zheng (于正), the renowned producer and representative of Bai Lu's agency, responded with a rebuttal and released screenshots of a chat with Zhao Na (趙娜), the scriptwriter in charge of "Mo Li."

The chat content reported that Zhao Na had urgently taken over the script, and she expressed the view that the original script was "clichéd and unusable." Yu Zheng explained that Bai Lu had worked with Zhao Na on two previous projects and that they had a relationship of trust. He then emphasized that because he and Bai Lu fully trusted director Lin Yufen, known as a hitmaker, neither he nor Bai Lu were involved in the script's production whatsoever.

In response to the accusation, Yu Zheng commented sarcastically, saying, "It's truly exhausting to quarrel over fame and fortune. If you have that much time, you'd be better off dedicating it to creative work." He also indicated his intention to take legal action. (Mathilda)