Singapore actress Rui En, 35, may have crashed her car into a stationary motorcycle on Tuesday afternoon, but it is hard to say whether her chances of winning at the upcoming Star Awards have taken a hit as a result. The answer depends on who you ask.
She is up for prizes in three public-voting categories at the Star Awards tomorrow and on April 24: Favourite Female Character (for playing Fang Tonglin in The Dream Makers 2), Toggle Most Beloved Celebrity BFF Award (with Dennis Chew) and Favourite Onscreen Couple (with Qi Yuwu in The Dream Makers 2 and with Shaun Chen in The Journey: Our Homeland). These online awards are based on public votes on the site toggle.sg/starawards2016 and voting ends on April 24 at 10pm.
When contacted by The Straits Times, Chen says he does not know whether the incident will affect votes for them in the Favourite Onscreen Couple category.
Rui En is not up for a Top 10 Most Popular Female Artistes accolade as she has already won 10 of them. She will instead be receiving an All-Time Favourite Artiste Award to recognise her achievements.
In the categories decided by public voting, it is worth noting that she has not been the frontrunner.
In the Favourite Female Character category, she has been consistently placed second behind Jeanette Aw in updates sent to the media.
This was how things stood as of April 5, before the accident. In the Favourite Onscreen Couple category, it is Aw's pairing with Qi Yuwu in The Dream Makers 2 that has been going strong, with Rui En and Chen coming in as runners-up.
The president of the official Rui En fan club, Ms Peh Xin Yi, 28, who declines to give her occupation, does not think that Rui En's popularity has been affected by the incident. She says: "I know that fans who are voting... are still voting.
"It helps that her response and (her management) Hype Records' response was forthcoming. No one was trying to hide."
Still, there are negative posts amid the generally supportive messages on Rui En's fanclub page on Facebook. Facebook user Rachel Khoo posted: "I will never want to be your fan anymore."
In a statement released on Thursday, the actress apologised to the owner of the motorcycle and said "there is absolutely no excuse for my careless driving".
She is also contesting in the Best Actress category with The Dream Makers 2, which is not determined by public votes.
