On 5 May, Tony Yu Jingtian’s company, Astro Music issued a statement stating that the trainee has withdrawn from “Youth With You 3.”
The official reason cited for Tony Yu’s withdrawal is due to his ‘health’ issues.
The full statement is as follows:
Recently, all kinds of messages about our company’s artist Tony Yu has consumed the public resources and caused worry to everyone. Here, we would like to apologize on behalf of our artist. At the same time, due to our artist’s health, he will not be able to participate in related activities and has decided to quite filming for the program [Youth With You 3].
iQiyi Apologizes For “Problems” With Its “Youth With You 3” Program
IQiyi also responded in the early morning, sincerely accepting the order of the Broadcasting and Television Bureau. They also promised to comply with the requirements of such an order. The show also promised to immediately rectify and reform its program, whilst also actively assuming the consequences. It will also seek continuous improvement for its the program management system.
Though the controversies surrounding Tony Yu involved his parents allegedly engaging in illicit business dealings, some argue that the trainee is innocent as he has not been personally involved. Others claim that a trainee who found fame through the use of ‘dirty money’ ought not be to given a place in the show. Further allegations of Tony Yu’s alleged dual nationality status did not help either.
The Need For An Idol To Maintain A “Socially Acceptable” Conduct
This is not the first time a trainee has been embroiled in controversies during the airing of a survival show. The CHUANG 2021 Trainee Ding Feijun also suffered the same fate. Fans decided to leave his support group due to allegations of his ill-treatment of his then girlfriend.
There have also been other instances in C-pop where idols were not spared from the wrongdoings of their parents. Previously, R1SE member and leader Zhou Zhennan was also called into controversy due to the large amount of debts owed by his parents.
#TonyYu’s company issued a statement confirming his resignation from #YouthWithYou3. pic.twitter.com/GgiaaToPBh
— Daily Cpop News (@DailyCpop) May 4, 2021
For now, iQiyi has not given a statement on when recording for the finale episode of Youth With You 3 is expected to resume, if at all.
