Following the success of the Tiny Times film series, his career was disrupted in 2014 when he was arrested in Beijing for marijuana possession, along with Jaycee Chan, leading to their blacklisting in mainland China. Ko's scenes in the Chinese films Monster Hunt and Tiny Times 4 were removed.[3] His advertisement deals and his variety show engagements were also cancelled.[3]
Ko returned to acting with The Road to Mandalay (2016) in Taiwan. In 2020, A Choo, a film he had acted in before the 2014 arrest, was released in Taiwan after he acquired the distribution rights from the Chinese copyright holder.[3][4]
Ko dated Cherry (黃慶宜), a TV showgirl, before he became famous for You Are the Apple of My Eye. He made headlines when his romance with pop singer Elva Hsiao, who is 12 years senior to him and a bigger star, broke in 2012. They split in 2014. Ko then has an on-and-off relationship with singer Tia Lee since 2014.[6][7]
Drug use
Ko had appeared in a 2012 anti-drug advertisement in Taiwan in which he and other celebrities declared, "I don't use drugs".[8][9]
On 18 August 2014, Ko was arrested along with Jaycee Chan by the Beijing Police for drug use, amid a broad anti-drug crackdown on the Chinese celebrities. Police said both actors tested positive for marijuana and admitted using the drug. Ko was placed in administrative detention for 14 days.[3] He was released on 28 August and faced another round of interrogations by the Taipei District Prosecutors Office after returning to Taiwan.[10]
On 29 June 2018, NARS invited Ko to a promotional event in Taipei. After backlash on Weibo, NARS China issued a statement on 1 July expressing regret over the Taiwan team’s decision and apologizing; Ko deleted his social media posts of the event the same day.[11]
↑柯震東獲金馬獎最佳新演員[Kai Ko wins Golden Horse for Best New Actor]. Yahoo HK! News (in Chinese). 26 November 2011. Archived from the original on 17 November 2018. Retrieved 4 June 2012.
↑Be yourself (有話直說) by 柯震東[Be yourself (有話直說) by Kai Ko]. KKBOX (in Chinese). 21 November 2011. Archived from the original on 11 July 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
↑娛樂組 (20 November 2018). "【斷開戀姐癖】柯震東二度分合李毓芬 最終破局原因曝光". 鏡週刊 Mirror Media (in Traditional Chinese). Archived from the original on 2 April 2024. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
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