Scandalous celebrities become Vietnam’s most searched personalities this year

Actor Hong Dang (1st place) and musician Ho Hoai Anh (3rd place) topped the 2022 list of most searched celebrities.

Both Dang, 38, and Anh, 42, were allegedly involved in the sexual assault of a British teenager in Spain, according to Vietnam News.

A spokesman for the Mallorca Police Department told VnExpress on July 1 that two Vietnamese men had been arrested over sexual assault allegations. He refused to disclose their identities and occupations.

According to local media, the two Vietnamese men were an actor and a musician.

The two men were later taken to court, before being released on bail, but had their passports seized by Spanish authorities. The 17-year-old girl was allowed to leave Mallorca and return home after testifying in court.

The story took local Vietnamese audiences by storm, with many making educated guesses about who the alleged culprits were. Some people pointed to Anh and Dang, who were the same ages as the reported suspects, and at the time, were also traveling in Spain.

Anh is known among Vietnamese audiences for having composed many pop music hits while Dang is known for his roles in numerous TV dramas.

Singer Hien Ho was the 2nd most searched celebrity in Vietnam this year. She became the topic of hot discussion after some of her photos with a married man surfaced online in March this year, inviting a social media backlash.

The businessman, in his 60s, told the media that he and the singer were just close friends, but the netizens did not buy it. They found that the hugging was “too intimate” and found that the photograph was taken in a 5-star hotel in Hanoi. Many accused Hien Ho of being a third person ruining a marriage.

In the aftermath of the scandal, she apologized and retreated from the showbiz scene for a while. In September, she singer reappeared at a music event but received a backlash from the public. Ho was invited to perform at a university in HCMC in November, but organizers quickly canceled her performance because she faced opposition from many students.

Two foreign actors also made this year’s list.

High-profile Chinese actor Li Yifeng also received lots of attention after he was detained by Beijing police for soliciting prostitutes on multiple occasions. According to a post by the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau on the local website Weibo, the star confessed to the criminal allegations. Hashtags relating to the actor’s behavior amassed 500 million hits on the platform.

Thai actor Bright Vachirawit, who shot to fame for starring in “F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers,” also made the list. Thanks to the popularity of the TV series and his good-looks, he has received a lot of love from Vietnamese audiences, forming a strong female fan base here.

Google named actor Johnny Depp as the most searched person around the world in 2022, followed by actor Will Smith (2^nd) and actress Amber Heard, Depp’s ex-wife.