Hong Kong actress Angela Yuen Lai-lam has publicly shared her experiences of sexual harassment within the entertainment industry, detailing several incidents over the years that have sparked widespread discussion and prompted an apology from a cultural writer. Yuen, a two-time Golden Horse Award nominee—including an upcoming nomination for next month’s ceremony—revealed the challenges she has faced in a 3,000-word social media essay titled “Those Apologies That Would Never Come.”
In her account, Yuen described multiple instances of unwanted advances and disrespect. She recounted an occasion when a veteran male actor unexpectedly kissed her on the cheek during filming without prior consent and failed to address the incident afterward. Additionally, she recalled a male director making inappropriate comments about her physical appearance, telling her, “You’re the type people don’t want to sleep with – just be genuine friends with.” Yuen also described a separate experience with a drunk male emcee who asked her in Japanese about his genitals.
One particularly notable episode involved a male reporter who, during an interview promoting her 2025 film *Gamer Girls*, commented that interviewing her felt like “sitting in a nightclub.” Although the reporter appeared to realize the remark was inappropriate, he neither apologized nor addressed the discomfort caused, instead excusing himself by saying he felt like an escort. Yuen said she immediately called out the comment but was met with silence and a resumption of the interview as if nothing had occurred.
The reporter, culture editor and writer Wong Wing-leung—known by his pen name “Red Eye”—acknowledged on social media that he was the individual referenced by Yuen. He expressed regret for the remark, calling it a “slip of the tongue,” and admitted to mishandling the situation by failing to apologize at the time. Wong conveyed his “sincere and solemn apologies” and recognized the inappropriate nature of his comments that disrupted the interview.
Wong previously served as editor-in-chief of the magazine *As Artistic As You*, which stated it had terminated his contract last year. The magazine was not implicated beyond this disclosure.
Yuen emphasized that these incidents were not isolated but reflected systemic issues within the industry’s culture. She criticized an environment that condones or even encourages humor and behavior that objectifies women, leaving victims vulnerable to blame and humiliation. Yuen pointed to the persistence of myths surrounding the “perfect victim” and the disproportionate scrutiny placed on survivors compared to perpetrators, contributing to a chilling effect that silences many out of fear of privacy invasion and damage to reputation.
She called for broader recognition of sexual harassment as a symptom of a deeper, systemic problem—one marked by a denial of women’s autonomy, professionalism, and rights to define boundaries of respect and offense. According to Yuen, meaningful change requires acknowledging the pervasiveness of such misconduct rather than dismissing incidents as isolated events.