Kris Wu's Viral 'Prison Photo' Is Fake, Edited From 2015 Footage

A photo circulating on Weibo and international fan communities this week claimed to show former EXO member Kris Wu (Wu Yifan) dramatically heavier during his prison stint, shaved-headed and wearing a red-checked shirt. It spread fast. It is also fake.

The image, which resurfaced on October 11, is a manipulated composite built from footage of Wu filmed during a 2015 Chinese media interview, with his body shape digitally distorted to simulate weight gain. The same fabricated photo had already made rounds in 2022. Someone just reposted it and let the cycle run again.

Not the first, not the second

This is at least the third distinct wave of prison rumors about Wu since his sentence was confirmed. In November of last year, anonymous accounts on Weibo claiming to be fellow inmates posted that Wu had been beaten by a local gang inside the prison and killed either in the assault or after a hunger strike. Multiple versions of the story circulated simultaneously, which is usually a reliable sign none of them are true.

Jiangsu Province police pushed back officially through their Weibo account, calling the death claims outright fabrications and warning that spreading unverified information carries legal consequences under Chinese law. A photo of an inmate that circulated alongside those death rumors was also identified as a fake: a real prisoner's face swapped for Wu's.

Chinese authorities have now publicly debunked multiple separate rounds of Wu-related prison disinformation, which is an unusual enough step that it's worth noting. There has been no official report of death, serious injury, or any change in Wu's incarceration status.

The sentence, for context

Wu, a Canadian national, debuted with EXO in 2012 and left the group abruptly in 2014, moving back to China for a solo career that included a role in the 2017 film Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. He was arrested in 2021 on charges of rape and group licentiousness involving multiple women, including minors.

The Beijing Chaoyang District People's Court sentenced him in 2022 to 13 years: 11 years and 6 months for rape, plus 1 year and 10 months for group licentiousness, with deportation to Canada to follow once he completes his sentence. Wu appealed; the Beijing Third Intermediate People's Court rejected it and upheld the original ruling.

He is currently serving that sentence. Any photo or claim about his condition circulating online should be treated with serious skepticism until confirmed by an official source.