Jackson Wang, a Hong Kong singer who debuted with the Korean group GOT7, has shifted his focus to the mainland in recent years. During a recent interview in India, he revealed that he had lent about 40% of his income to a friend who claimed to have a family emergency, only for the friend to disappear without repaying the money.
Having been active in mainland China in recent years, Hong Kong singer Jackson Wang has taken a year off due to depression. During an interview on an Indian internet program, he appeared open and willing to discuss almost any topic. He mentioned how he had lent approximately 40% of his annual income to a friend, only to have the friend vanish, turning the situation into a real-life betrayal scenario.
The betrayal by a friend plunged Jackson Wang into deep self-doubt and denial, further exacerbating his psychological burden and worsening his depression.
While Jackson Wang remained calm during the interview, the pain in his expression was evident. He recalled how his friend had claimed a sudden family emergency and asked for help under the pretense of needing money for family needs. Trusting his friend without reservation, he readily lent the money.
Reports estimate that, given Jackson Wang’s immense popularity and commercial value in the entertainment industry, the borrowed amount could reach tens of millions of Chinese yuan.
To Jackson Wang’s disbelief, once he transferred the money, the friend seemed to vanish into thin air. Not only did the friend not mention repaying the money, but he also cut off all contact with Jackson Wang. What deeply saddened Jackson Wang was the discovery that the friend’s initial reason for borrowing money was fabricated, as it was not for his family’s needs. Jackson Wang finally realized he had been deceived, thus ending the friendship.
When asked if he would lend money to others in the future, Jackson Wang, while expressing caution in his tone, still stated that if he had enough trust in the person, he would still choose to lend money but would inform them in advance that if they lost contact later on, their relationship would also end.
This incident has dealt a severe blow to Jackson Wang, coinciding partially with his previous revelation of taking a break from the entertainment industry due to depression. Fortunately, his new album “MAGICMAN 2” is set to be globally released on July 18, 2025, with a behind-the-scenes video of the lead track “BUCK” already unveiled. The album, themed “from betrayal to self-reconciliation,” is seen as Jackson Wang’s attempt to transform his own experience of being deceived into an artistic expression.
Born in Hong Kong in 1994, Jackson Wang debuted as a member of the boy group GOT7 in South Korea in January 2014. That same year, he won the SBS Entertainment Awards for Best New Male Artist in the Variety Category. In 2017, he served as a guest host at the Asian Music Awards and received the MTV Special Award. With over 30 million followers on Weibo, earlier this year on Yang Tianzhen’s podcast show, he shocked the industry by exposing its darker side, stating “popularity is a bubble” and advising himself not to be obsessed or imagine it is real. He also announced that he would no longer use a manager, causing a stir in the Chinese entertainment industry.