American-born actor Daniel Wu, who hails from California, recently launched an “English with Daniel Wu” account on Chinese social media platforms such as Douyin and Xiaohongshu, offering English oral courses personally taught by him. According to reports from mainland China, the product “Daniel Wu teaches you to speak English” generated sales exceeding 5 million yuan within five days, and the “Criticism of Daniel Wu’s English Course” even trended at the top of search rankings on March 11.
The “Gaotu Group” based in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, collaborated with actor Daniel Wu to introduce courses like “Daniel Wu teaches you to speak English.” The course primarily consists of vertical videos recorded by Daniel Wu himself, priced at 398 yuan for 84 lessons, averaging less than 5 yuan per lesson.
Some students who purchased the course expressed disappointment, stating: “Each 10-minute lesson only consists of five minutes of Daniel Wu’s teaching, with the remaining time filled by other instructors explaining concepts. The advertised AI practice also only offers voice interactions, not video calls, making the celebrity more of a marketing gimmick for course sales.”
Users also pointed out that while the AI dialogue in the course uses Daniel Wu’s voice, it sounds too mechanical and lacks interactivity, often repeating content, and even praising incorrect pronunciation with a generic response of “great.”
Some netizens shared conversations with customer service where students questioned why Daniel Wu wasn’t teaching the course, to which they were informed that the curriculum was divided into four learning segments, not all of which were personally handled by Daniel Wu, indirectly confirming the presence of “substitute teaching.”
Third-party data platforms reported that the product “Daniel Wu teaches you to speak English” achieved sales exceeding 5 million yuan, while a data platform called Feigua indicated cumulative sales on Douyin ranging from approximately 2.65 million to 6.5 million yuan.
Public data revealed that the course “Daniel Wu teaches you to speak English” was launched by “Yashi Education,” with Daniel Wu identified as one of the principals. According to Tianyancha, Yashi Education Technology (Hangzhou) Co., Ltd., is held 30% by Shanghai Wanmeizuhe Brand Management Co., Ltd., which is further owned by Shanghai Feixinran Culture Communication Co., Ltd. with a 46.75% stake, while Daniel Wu (Daniel Wu Neh-Tsu) holds a substantial 90% stake in the latter.
Born in California, Daniel Wu graduated from the Architecture Department at Oregon State University. At 21, with only $1000 in hand, he traveled to Hong Kong where he was discovered by a talent scout when his travel funds were running low, landing him his first advertisement deal. He later transitioned into the film industry and began his acting career.
Despite the initial appeal of having a celebrity endorsement, the substantial gap between course content and expectations left some consumers dissatisfied. Online users recommended caution, advising to “try a sample lesson first instead of impulsively purchasing solely based on a celebrity’s name.”
Celebrity-led courses have long faced external scrutiny. Previously, Wang Leehom’s 30-day-long vocal lessons priced at 1699 yuan triggered skepticism, with student “Xiao K” revealing to the media that the average lesson duration was a mere 10 minutes with no grading or professional guidance, instead relying on peer reviews among students, falling short of the quality found in free tutorials on platforms such as Bilibili.
While Daniel Wu’s English course incorporates AI technology, users also noted that the “disparity between the AI practice voice and a live instructor is significant,” and even with payment, there are still “some functions yet to be activated,” indicating a rush to market official courses without thorough development, suggesting a profit-driven mindset.