Actor Kiki Darling dropped from Jack Neo’s 'Ah Boys To Firefighters' after sexual assault conviction
Singaporean filmmaker Jack Neo has removed content creator Kiki Darling from his upcoming film 'Ah Boys To Firefighters' following the discovery of his past sexual assault conviction. The production team stated they were unaware of the conviction until it surfaced online and decided to recast the role to avoid reputational risks.
Why it matters
This highlights the growing importance of background checks in the entertainment industry and the potential for past criminal conduct to impact professional opportunities in the digital age.
Singaporean filmmaker Jack Neo will remove content creator Kiki Darling from his upcoming movie Ah Boys To Firefighters and recast his role, after learning that the actor had previously been convicted of sexual assault.
His scenes will be cut from the movie, with the production team now looking for another actor to take over his role, and planning reshoots.
Kiki, 24, whose real name is Hari Kishen Balakrishnan, was one of four new leading men unveiled for the movie on Aug 31, following an open casting call in June that attracted more than 1,000 hopefuls.
A spokesperson for the Ah Boys To Firefighters production team told The Straits Times on Sept 9 that it verified the news of his conviction only on Sept 8, after information about the case surfaced online.
“We were very surprised to hear about it,” said the spokesperson.
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