His scandals, allegations, prison sentence, and more.
Koreaboo
Li Ming De (also known as Marcus Li), once a promising Chinese actor with a growing fanbase, retired from entertainment earlier this year and has now been sentenced to time in prison. Here’s a timeline of the events that contributed to his downfall:
1. The Triple Echo of Time
Li’s troubles began in January, shortly after the series The Triple Echo of Time began filming on December 29, 2024. In an online post, Li lashed out at The Triple Echo of Time crew, accusing them of mistreating him and showing favoritism towards a senior actor, Ma Tian Yu, whom Li accused of being a diva on set. According to Li, Ma arrived late to rehearsals and didn’t practice his lines.
The crew later disputed Li’s claims, alleging that Li had actually been the one to behave unprofessionally by damaging hotel property, failing to respond, not attending script readings, and causing filming delays. Li’s agency cut ties with him, Li was removed from The Triple Echo of Time cast, and he announced his retirement on January 9.
2. Damaging Property While Intoxicated
Not long after The Triple Echo of Time controversy and Li’s retirement announcement, another scandal made headlines. On January 27, Li damaged director Yang Yang‘s Mercedes-Benz while under the influence of alcohol.
According to court documents, Li ripped off the car’s side mirrors and emblem and kicked its doors after seeing Yang’s parked car blocking other vehicles in a public space. Initially, Li expressed remorse and agreed to pay 90,000 yuan (approximately $12,544 USD) to repair the damage. Afterwards, however, the actor refused to pay. He blocked Yang on the messaging app WeChat and demanded that Yang apologize to him.
3. An Alleged Ex-Girlfriend’s Accusations
When news of the car-smashing incident broke, a woman claiming to be Li’s ex-girlfriend accused Li of emotionally manipulating her, kicking her out of their shared home, damaging cars while intoxicated, and abusing animals.
4. Actress Liao Hui Jia Claps Back
After debuting in 2018, Li went on to play leading roles in several series, including Who’s Your Daddy?. Liao Hui Jia, who played the supporting character Sun Xiao Li. She publicly criticized Li’s behavior, describing him as a diva with subpar acting skills and the worst colleague she had worked with in her years in the industry.
5. Prison Sentence And Fine
This summer, Li was sentenced to six months in prison with no suspended sentence for damaging Yang Yang’s car. Additionally, Li has been ordered to pay more than twice the original amount for repairs, 200,000 yuan (about $27,776 USD).
6. Legend Of The Female General
The Triple Echo of Time isn’t the only series Li has been kicked out of this year. Since Chinese authorities have banned Li from working in entertainment, Legend of the Female General has replaced his face with that of actor Li Qing using AI face-swapping technology.
The process, which reportedly cost 6 million yuan (about $835,625 USD) and took 72 hours, allowed production to continue without reshooting any of the disgraced actor’s scenes.
Rising Actor Kicked Out Of Series Mid-Production, Replaced With AI
