After Owhat’s announcement was made, a large number of fans and fan groups protested and left messages on Owhat’s Weibo, demanding repayment. South Korean star Kim Taehyung’s fan group stated that it had already called several merchants to the police on the 14th, but no one on the platform came forward to deal with it.
According to incomplete statistics from the Red Star Capital Bureau, as of October 16, at least 31 fan groups have issued a statement on this. Judging from the statement issued by the fan group, as early as May 2021, the Owhat platform was unable to withdraw cash. For example, Chen Linong’s fan group @超级农农花路Assist Team stated that since May of this year, the Owhat platform has owed a total of nearly 180,000 yuan in arrears.
The report also stated that 11 fan groups disclosed that they could not withdraw the total amount of RMB 2.48 million, 18 fan groups did not disclose the amount of cash that could not be withdrawn, and the other two said the amount was “up to six digits.” Some fans are worried that the Owaht volume “runs away”.
Among the fan groups that announced the specific amount, the fan group that failed to withdraw the highest amount of cash was the fan group @TF-医援会 of the TFBOYS combination, “there are nearly 600,000 funds left without payment for performance”; followed by Lin Yanjun’s fan group @林彦俊全球Fan support club, “involving more than 540,000 yuan.” Foreign star Jennie’s fan group @babyblue_JennieKim said that fans who opened the refund channel in September have not received a refund yet. After contacting the platform customer service, they only got a reply of “I’ll check it for you” and no follow-up. .
Founded in 2014, Owhat is operated by Beijing Quanxing Space-Time Technology Company. The shareholders of All Star Space include Beijing Toile Culture Technology Co., Ltd., Ding Jie and Huang Xinyu.
The platform provides entertainment companies and fan clubs with one-stop convenient interactive tools such as online trading, communication management, activity management and celebrity welfare interaction, and is an important place for fan groups to raise funds.
A fan club manager pointed out that Owhat is like Taobao in the “fan circle”. The celebrity fan club is a merchant and each fan is a buyer. On this platform, the celebrity merchandise is bought and sold, and the fan club uses this to raise funds for star support activities. , And even directly raise small sums of money.
Owhat released the “White Paper on the Idol Industry and Fan Economy in 2019” last year. It said that from 2015 to 18, the number of orders on the platform increased by 2279%, and the amount of fundraising for public welfare projects increased by 249 times. In 2018, the amount reached 7 million yuan, but the white paper did not Explain the criteria for fundraising for public welfare projects.
It is worth mentioning that from November 2020 to July this year, four of the companies invested by Allstar Space-Time have changed their status to “Cancelled”, including Beijing Allstar Space-Time Network Technology Co., Ltd. (holding 100 shares). %), Shanghai Oumei Advertising Co., Ltd. (holding 100% shares), Guangzhou Ouwo Brand Marketing Co., Ltd. (holding 60% shares) and Beijing Aix Marketing Co., Ltd. (holding 100% shares).
The outside world has noticed that since June this year, the Central Cyberspace Administration of the Communist Party of China has carried out a two-month special operation of “Clearness ·’Rice Circle’ Chaotic Rectification” across the country, focusing on cracking down on five types of “Rice Circle” chaotic behaviors. . By August 19, multiple star-chasing apps including Owhat were removed from the shelves.
After the CCP’s purge operation began, there was a big shock in China’s entertainment industry.
On July 31, Canadian Chinese star Wu Yifan was detained on suspicion of rape; his arrest was approved on August 16.
On the afternoon of August 12, the 30-year-old Chinese singer Huo Zun was named by the Network Culture Working Committee of the China Cultural Management Association and announced his withdrawal from the entertainment industry.
On the evening of August 26, the well-known Chinese actor Zhao Wei was blocked by the entire network.
On August 27, Zheng Shuang was charged with taxes, late fees and fines totaling 299 million yuan. His personal Weibo and studio Weibo were permanently banned, and the program was also taken off the shelves.
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