Singer and songwriter Thanh Bui as a coach in The Voice Kids
contest
The personal life of celebrities is always a hot topic among fans and tabloid newspapers devoured by such fans.
The “news” becomes hotter still when scandals erupt over something the celebrity said or did, or did not say or do.
The hottest scandal of them all happens when it involves celebrities known as clean and above board, those who have taken care to groom their public image.
Thanh Bui, the 30-year-old coach of TV show The Voice Kids in Vietnam, found himself at the center of unwelcome public attention this week after some fans released evidence that he has been married, which meant he was lying all along when he said he was still single.
A Vietnamese Australian singer and songwriter who shot to fame with a top 8 spot in the 2008 Australian Idol contest, Bui officially launched a music school called Soul Academy in Ho Chi Minh City last year.
He has since achieved almost iconic status with several of his own compositions becoming hits, including Lang tham mot tinh yeu (I’m forbidden) and Tinh ve noi dau (Where do we go).
The Soul Academy, focusing on training in piano, violin, vocal music and opera, is a member of the Soul Entertainment Corporation operated by Bui and some of his friends like songwriter and music producers Duong Khac Linh and Trieu Yen.
Bui said he wants to share his knowledge and passion for music with the younger generation in Vietnam.
When he became one of the four coaches for The Voice Kids, his friendly and devoted attitude towards his little wards won him new admirers.
Apart from his talent and enthusiasm, Bui has been admired for his lifestyle, staying clear of scandals unlike many other celebrities. He came across as a dignified, warm-hearted and simple person.
Bui once told local media he would like to marry a 100-percent Vietnamese girl, who shares his love for Vietnamese specialties like durian and nuoc mam (fish sauce).
But some of his fans or detractors tracked down clips of interviews from Australian Idol 2008 in which Bui said he was living with his wife and his family in Richmond.
They also showed photos of a Thai woman named Siriamon Amonsuthum and clips featuring she and Bui as a happy couple in a clothing store that they owned.
In another clip before he said goodbye to the Australian Idol contest, Bui said he and his wife were planning to have a baby.
After the news spread on tabloid websites and newspapers, Bui told newswire Dan Tri he did not take the case seriously as he had been involved in the show business for 10 years and new that a celebrity must accept the fact that his personal life is constantly watched by the public.
But he rejected claims that he had been married before.
“She was actually my fiancé. We were engaged before I signed up for Australian Idol,” he said.
After he left the contest, the couple realized their differences and broke up, Bui said. He thanked his fans for their concern and hoped that they would pay more attention to his music projects, rather than rumors about his personal life.
Infidelity accusations
Thanh Hang, a famous supermodel who is currently the host of Vietnam’s Next Top Model 2013, was also the topic of gossip several days ago after she was accused of having an affair with a married businessman.
A Vietnamese Canadian woman wrote on her Facebook page that Hang had been in a relationship with her husband named T although she knew T. had not divorced.
The woman said T. met Hang during his business trips back to Vietnam and the couple started their extramarital relationship a while ago.
Hang had been known as a scandal-free celebrity and she did not talk about her love life in public. But recently she told the press she was planning to marry the man she loved, and some photos of her and T. going out together to some public events were leaked on the internet.
Hang declined to comment about accusations leveled by T.’s wife when approached by the press.
But she received sympathy from actress Phi Thanh Van, who last month had found herself the target of storm of public criticism after a pregnant woman accused her of having an affair with her husband.
“I believe she’ll find the best way to get out of this, she is a smart girl,” Van told online website Giao Duc Viet Nam.
Van, usually known as a drama queen of Vietnamese showbiz, said her parents were very upset when they read about her scandal, and it took a while for her to recover.
She was cleared of the scandal after the press exposed that the woman was actually not married to the man rumored to be Van’s boyfriend; and that the baby she was carrying was conceived out of wedlock.
“It is a never-ending story: as a celeb, you must accept you will face a lot of slander,” she said.
Van said she believes that those made of “firm stuff” will eventually survive negative rumors and scandals, as she did.