YeinJee's Asian Journal

Chinese starlet Isabella Leong is retaliating against her agency, the Emperor Entertainment Group (EEG), by suing the company for unfair contract terms.

EEG has earlier filed a lawsuit (April 3) against Isabella for breach of contract. The 19-year-old starlet has been missing in action since late March after her rumoured relationship with Hong Kong billionaire Richard Li was exposed.

It’s reported that Richard wants to cancel Isabella’s contract with EEG and form an entertainment agency of his own, with Isabella as the core. Although it’s unconfirmed news, the disappearing-act of Isabella has prompted EEG to file the lawsuit.

Isabella signed a 10-year long contract with EEG when she was just 12. She claims that she was too young, and her mother was not English literate to understand the terms when the contract was signed.

Her contract has been extended to 15-years when she was 14, and a total of 20 years when she was 17 (most people has mistaken that she signed a 20-year long contract when she was 12).

Most of the public opinions are not in favour of Isabella though… lots of people are criticising her way of handling the matter, for choosing to hide herself instead of negotiating with the company directly. If Isabella could handle the situation with a bit more maturity, the public would probably be on her side.

Besides, her relationship with 42-year-old Richard Lee is not winning the heart of her fans and critics. It’s generally believed that Richard is behind Isabella’s decision, and that he is providing her the legal team to deal with the lawsuits.

I’ll leave it to the court to decide who’s right or wrong on legal terms. Exploitation or not, it doesn’t hide the fact that EEG does make Isabella one of the most popular young Asian stars at the moment.

Isabella could extend her fame to the west by making her Hollywood debut in August 2008 with “The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor”. I guess she won’t be thanking her agency for getting the role.