It all started out as a fun “brokeback” rumor. Leehom Wang (王力宏) and classical pianist, Li Yundi (李雲迪), became good friends after meeting up in January 2012 for a New Year gala performance. The friends were then seen out together on movie dates, Thanksgiving dinners, and grand opening banquets. For an entire year, the alleged “Homdi” couple continually fed their supporters with fake love proposals and documented skin-shipping. Originally treated as a fun topic for gossip, the shipping quickly went out of hand, and more and more fans were beginning to believe that Homdi was truly happening. In January 2013, Leehom and Yundi finally stepped up to deny that they were not a couple – just a pair of great friends who shared much in common. Lu Chen Fuels Brokeback Controversy The Homdi wave slowed down for the next couple of weeks, but it was once again put back into the force by Taiwanese magician, Lu Chen (劉謙), at the CCTV Live Spring Festival Gala two weeks ago. Lu Chen and Yundi’s performance, a disappearing act that involved Lu Chen vanishing Yundi out of thin air while he played the piano, was briefly interrupted by Lu Chen exclaiming, “You want Leehom?” to Yundi. After the performance, a netizen claimed that he witnessed Leehom attacking Lu Chen for his words backstage, but this allegation was later debunked by Leehom and Lu Chen. That night, CCTV representatives released a statement, stating, “Lu Chen’s teasing on Li Yundi and Leehom Wang was not created by the directors. It is an improvisation by Lu Chen, and solely by him. Reruns of the show will delete this segment.” Lu Chen commented on CCTV’s statement an hour later on his Weibo, writing, “Every single word I said on stage was properly communicated [with Yundi’s team]. It happened because both of [our teams] were satisfied with it. Come on! Be honest.” On February 16, Lu Chen’s manager stated that Lu Chen’s “Leehom line” was actually suggested by Yundi and his team. Li Yundi’s Response Leehom stayed quiet on the matter, but yesterday, Yundi posted his response to the incident on his Weibo, stating, “Recently, I have been busy preparing for my Europe tour and the Lantern Festival soirée. It has been a while since the Spring Festival, and I have heard too many untrue reports and claims. Here, I just want to say one thing – I never proposed nor suggested any change to the script. I trust [my fans’] judgments. I just want to be able to give everyone more good classical piano music.” Leehom and Yundi Unfollow Each Other Yesterday, both Leehom and Yundi unfollowed each other on Weibo. Leehom however, is still following Lu Chen. Sharp-eyed fans noticed that right before Leehom unfollowed Yundi, the singer had posted a status on his Weibo, writing, “Today, I watched the Oscar-nominated Silver Linings Playbook. The director’s script is just like a machine gun; every spoken word is as sharp as a bullet. It reminds me of the film Ang Lee recommended me, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) Both films are great and sunny productions, but the actors and director’s performances alone are brilliant enough to watch. recommend you guys watch these two films!” Some fans believed that Leehom’s post was meant to be directed to those who fueled the Homdi rumors. Nonetheless, many fans were disappointed that a simple brokeback rumor would result in the demise of their friendship. So who is telling the truth? Creds: Sina
