Actress Carina Lau says husband Tony Leung’s photo was misused in Chinese ad

Hong Kong actress Carina Lau has taken issue with the unauthorised use of her husband Tony Leung Chiu Wai’s photo.

Lau, 59, took to Chinese social media platform Weibo on Nov 10, posting two screenshots of a brand using the Hong Kong actor’s image in an advertisement for health products.

“Such severe infringement and consumer deception – is this your marketing strategy, Taobao and Tmall?” she wrote in Chinese, tagging in her post the two e-commerce platforms that allegedly carried the ads.

In the screenshots, an online store with the name Encare Overseas Flagship Store used 63-year-old Leung’s photo to promote its products.

The brand is billed as a special sponsor of Chinese talk show Dapian Hen Haokan, which roughly translates to The Movie Is Good. A photo of the show’s host Chen Luyu was also used in the ad seen in the second screenshot.

Dapian Hen Haokan responded on Weibo later that day, confirming that Encare is a sponsor of the show.

“Our production team is currently verifying the matter,” it wrote. “Tmall and Taobao did not use the image, and we remain open to communication at any time.”

Encare told Chinese media outlet Jiupai News that as a sponsor of the talk show, which featured Leung in its debut episode in January 2024, the company therefore claimed it had the right to use his image. Encare said it is currently communicating with the production team to clarify if there was any misunderstanding.

After Lau’s post, the ads featuring Leung and Chen were taken down. Encare Overseas Flagship Store is reportedly no longer found on Taobao and Tmall.

Taobao told the Chinese media that merchants selling goods on its platform are subject to its oversight, and the platform will not tolerate any misconduct.

“The platform will impose penalties immediately if an investigation confirms a merchant has violated the regulations,” it said.