13 brands scrubbed Yi Jianlian's ads within a day of a rumour

On 17 October 2024 a Weibo user called Junwei Dianche posted screenshots from a chat group suggesting that Yi Jianlian — the retired CBA and NBA star who had become China's highest-profile basketball endorser — had paid for sex. The post included a photo and ID information; it was never verified, and Yi and his team never responded publicly. His company Xinhuo Group said it had received no notice and its courses ran normally.

The same evening, brands moved in a wave. Thirteen pulled or scrubbed his content: China Life, Guangfa Bank, OPPO, SAIC-GM, Junlebao, TCL, Quark app, Baixiang Food, Zhujiang Beer, HYPTEC Aion Hyper, Hsu Fu Chi China, Dongyangguang Cordyceps and Natural Doctor — the last of which had announced him as its ambassador only the previous week and set its official Weibo to one-touch protection. Seven others, including Nike, DFL, L'Oréal Men, Lima Electric, IndivBio, Zhongti Card and IM-BODY, kept their content up.

The toll was not just the scrubbed campaigns: his TVC endorsements had been reported at 20–30 million yuan over two-year terms, and the wave made clear that none of the roughly 20 brands would wait for a verdict — a single unverified allegation was enough to write off every campaign built around his face. No brand issued a termination statement; they simply deleted, which kept the contracts formally alive while killing the exposure they paid for.