In the mainland ancient costume drama “Empresses in the Palace” (“甄嬛传”), the actress Cui Manli, who played the role of “Yu Yingying,” recently revealed in a live broadcast with a boastful tone that she had driven under the influence without a license while filming in Hengdian City, Zhejiang Province, and fled the scene after causing an accident. This topic quickly trended on hot searches, with many netizens expressing concerns that she might be labeled as a “problematic artist” and that the drama series could be taken down as a result.
Cui Manli shared in the live broadcast that when she was filming in Hengdian, her friend got drunk and couldn’t drive. Despite being slightly intoxicated herself, she felt relatively sober and admitted that her confidence grew after drinking. Without a driver’s license, she impulsively drove the car and was involved in a hit-and-run accident.
In a vivid recount, she stated, “At the hotel entrance, I heard a bang. When I got out of the car and checked, I had dented the other car’s door. I was thinking about what to do, and my friend said, ‘Are you stupid? Hurry, let’s run, get in the car and drive away.'”
Encouraged by her companion, Cui Manli and her friend fled to another hotel, where she spent the night in fear, worrying that someone might come looking for her. She pondered, “I don’t have a driver’s license, and the car is not mine…”
The following day, she returned to the scene of the accident and asked if there was any surveillance footage. When she was informed by the hotel front desk staff that the surveillance cameras were not functioning, she cheerfully exclaimed, “The cameras are broken, so what is there to be afraid of!”
Cui Manli not only drove without a license and under the influence of alcohol but also fled the scene after the accident, causing some netizens to worry about the potential repercussions on the drama series “Empresses in the Palace” due to her actions, even leading to a possible takedown. Comments from netizens included “We’ve seen many exposed celebrities, but this is the first time for a self-exposed one” and “Is this considered turning oneself in?” questioning her motives for seeking attention and raising her profile.
Public records show that Cui Manli was born in February 1988 in Fuyang City, Anhui Province, and graduated from the Beijing Film Academy before entering the entertainment industry in 2008. She gained recognition from viewers for her portrayal of the ruthless and arrogant “Miao Yin Niangzi” Yu Ying’er in the 2011 TV drama “Empresses in the Palace.”
Currently, Cui Manli has 88,000 fans on her Douyin account under the username “Little Fu Jin (baby),” and her live broadcast account is named “Milk Tea (1006)” with over 5,000 followers.
On February 11th, the Dongyang City police have launched an investigation into the situation disclosed by Cui Manli, who is currently not within Dongyang City. According to “Gjmu News,” Cui Manli had three live broadcasts from February 10th to the early hours of February 11th, but she has not been live streaming since the incident. Additionally, the three pinned videos previously posted by her main account “Little Fu Jin (baby)” are now missing, featuring herself dressed in costumes from “Empresses in the Palace.”