Conflicts Rise Between Raymond Lam and Virginia Lok

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Reports that Raymond Lam (林峯) is leaving TVB may contain some truth as the star has been burning his bridges in not-so-subtle ways. Although both parties remain vague about Raymond’s future at the company, latest reports suggest that Raymond has distanced himself from his long-time mentor, TVB executive Virginia Lok (樂易玲). Some sources even claim that Raymond is intentionally rebelling against Ms. Lok, ignoring her phone calls and publicly aligning himself instead with girlfriend Karena Ng’s (吳千語) management company.

Since he lost the TV King title during last year’s TVB Anniversary Awards, Raymond has been allegedly upset with TVB and publicly threatened the company by announcing his plans to return to the family business at post-award interviews. Since then, Raymond has focused mostly on his many side projects, filming several mainland dramas and continuing to pursue his music career. While TVB was confident that Raymond would renew his management contract, his behavior seems rather contradictory. Most recently, Raymond volunteered to guest star alongside Karena in her upcoming film produced by Raymond Wong Bak Ming (黃百鳴), who is Eric Tsang’s (曾志偉) box-office rival during the Lunar New Year film race.

On September 14, Raymond and Karena made a high-profile appearance at the wedding of Raymond’s son Edmond Wong (黃子桓) and Carmen Cheng (鄭嘉敏), who is Karena’s manager. The two arrived at the event together and remained in the lobby for some time as they viewed the wedding displays. The couple attracted much attention at the event and they happily posed for many photos together. Raymond was often seen gently supporting Karena, keeping a hand on her waist as he guided her along. The two sat together at the banquet table, and at one point, took photos with a cute little boy sitting nearby. Raymond radiated fatherly love and many say that the three looked like a loving family. Raymond later took the stage and belted out his rendition of David Tao’s (陶喆) “Love is Simple” <愛很簡單> and wowed the crowd with his good spirits and high energy.

Virginia Lok also attended the wedding, although she was seated far away from the happy couple. Despite being at the same event, Raymond did not greet nor exchange words with Ms. Lok. A source suggested that Raymond may have behaved in a high-profile manner to annoy the TVB executive. The source stated, “Virginia Lok has always disapproved of Raymond dating Karena. Plus, Karena is an artist under Raymond Wong’s company. Ms. Lok wanted Raymond to maintain a low profile to avoid generating noise for Wong’s company….”

Other sources also revealed that Raymond has become distanced from his own manager as well. “Mother Candy (Raymond’s manager) doesn’t like BB (Karena) because she comes in between the two and manipulates Raymond, causing [Raymond and Candy]‘s relationship to deteriorate. Raymond has always planned to start a company with Mother Candy, but [after all of this] he may change his mind at any minute.”

Besides his manager, Raymond also allegedly had plans to recruit good friend Kate Tsui (徐子珊) to join his film production and talent management company. A source revealed, “Raymond and Kate share the same manager. They are very good friends. Raymond wanted her to join his new company, and Kate agreed to sign with him after her contract ends. Recently however, Kate changed her mind and says she wants to remain at TVB. She feels that it is more advantageous to stay at TVB. There aren’t very many first-line fadans left nowadays. Fala Chen (陳法拉) has left. Tavia Yeung (楊怡) and Myolie Wu (胡杏兒) have already won TV Queen. Kate feels that now she has a very high chance. This messed up Raymond’s plans, so of course he is angry!”

Kate seemed unaware of Raymond’s future plans when reporters reached out to her regarding these allegations. When asked if she is hoping to win the TV Queen title by staying at TVB, Kate said, “I have said this to Ah Gor [her nickname for Raymond] privately, I will stick with Ms. Lok no matter where she goes because she really watches out for me!” Kate also emphasized that winning TV Queen and renewing her contract are two separate matters.

Reporters also contacted Raymond regarding his possible business venture, though Raymond denied the claims. When asked if he is currently in talks regarding his contract renewal, Raymond revealed that no one has contacted him for negotiations and jokingly asked if he should feel worried. Asked if he will for renew with TVB, Raymond replied hesitantly, “I am not sure. I don’t know what my future plans are. I haven’t thought about whether I will renew my contract or not. My family also wants me to return home and help out. I will have to discuss this with my family!”


Creds: Oriental Sunday