In his book “Never Grow Up,” this girl’s father, an accomplished actor, described his chaotic love life. The Hong Kong-born actor married his only wife, a former Taiwanese actress, in 1982.
On December 3, 1982, the couple welcomed their only child, a boy. The same year he married and became a father, word spread that he had an affair.
It turned out that the girl’s actor father had been cheating on his wife with a previous beauty queen. As a result, their connection produced a love child, a girl, who they welcomed on November 19, 1999.
The girl’s father said in his memoirs that learning of his adultery caused chaos as he tried to find out how to tell his wife. He wrote:
The news of my affair leading to a love child sparked a media frenzy akin to a bomb exploding. I wanted to call Joan but wasn’t sure what to say. I couldn’t adequately explain this situation. It wasn’t a mistake that I could correct by saying, ‘I’m sorry.'”
The Hollywood celebrity admitted that he had put his marriage in jeopardy, and it appeared like he and his wife were on the verge of divorce. However, her reaction to the news did not meet his expectations.
The girl’s father phoned his wife, who was at the time in a remote region. As calm as she was, he inquired whether she had seen the newspapers. She informed him there was no need for an explanation and expressed her support:
“I don’t want you to hurt her, nor do I want her to hurt us.” I’ll support you with our kid if you need us. I know you’re probably feeling bad right now. Do not worry about me; I am alright. “You go deal with this.”
That open chat had the girl’s father in tears, pushing him to look in the mirror for self-reflection. He expressed guilt for cutting out his wife after she had been honest with him for years.
The director recognized he had acted out of character and disappointed his partner, and he felt compelled to make amends. Days later, he convened a family meeting, which included his wife and their son, and apologized deeply for his error.
In 1999, the girl’s famous father addressed the controversy at a press appearance, revealing that his wife had forgiven him and that their son understood. Furthermore, he stated that if the child turned out to be his, he would accept responsibility.
In another shocking revelation, the martial artist admitted in a 2015 interview that he was forced to marry his wife when she became pregnant with their kid, adding that it was never his plan to marry. He disclosed:
“Jaycee was conceived by chance. Although I had never contemplated marriage, I felt compelled to do so.”
The girl’s father allegedly admitted to having multiple girlfriends at a young age before secretly marrying his wife at a Los Angeles coffee shop. The couple has maintained their marriage for four decades. The stuntman allegedly betrayed his award-winning wife multiple times during their lengthy marriage.
In addition, the girl’s father acknowledged that he had not been a decent parent to his children. He revealed his strong conviction in physically correcting misbehaving youngsters, as he had done with his own son when he was younger. The “The Karate Kid” actor confessed that he once threw his son onto the couch, a decision he immediately regretted because it had terrified both him and his mother.
Who Is This Girl and Her Superstar Father?
The child in question is Etta Ng Chok Lam, the estranged daughter of well-known actor Jackie Chan. Her mother, Elaine Ng Yi-lei, is an actress and former pageant queen.
The incident concerning the 69-year-old film actor began after an emotional moment from his film “Ride On” went viral.
Despite publicly discussing his son, Chan did not include Chok Lam in his book. The book’s publication coincided with her recent marriage to Andi Autumn, a Canadian online sensation. She married her spouse at the age of 19.
Despite Chan not mentioning her, she had previously expressed that she didn’t want any involvement with him, as he had never been present in her life.
Despite Chok Lam’s brave decision to follow her heart, she confessed that she and her then-girlfriend Autumn were suffering in Canada. The couple began dating in 2017, the same year she came out as a lesbian on social media. Chok Lam and Autumn, who is 12 years her elder, made international news when they married in 2018.
Despite having a wealthy father, Chok Lam said she and Autumn were destitute and had sheltered under a bridge. In April 2018, the couple recorded and uploaded a video to YouTube, pleading for assistance due to their financial struggles.
Chok Lam and Autumn reported that relatives and friends had shunned them due to homophobia. They refused to reside in a homeless shelter due to their fear of separation. In the video, Chok Lam introduced herself and her lover, Autumn, as Chan’s child, detailing their duration of homelessness and the location of their residence.
“We’ve been homeless for a month because our parents are homophobic.” Among other things, we’ve found ourselves sleeping under bridges. We’ve gone to the police, the hospital, food banks, the LGBT community, and shelters, and none of them seem to care…”We don’t know what to do at this point.”
The now-23-year-old explained that after knocking on every door and receiving no help, she and her boyfriend decided to capture the video as a final option. Chok Lam even encouraged viewers to share the video in order to gain traction in the hopes of receiving assistance.
Her mother ultimately watched the video and scolded the pair for their actions. Yi-lei, who earlier bailed out the couple after they failed to pay the bill for their stay at a Mong Kok hotel, stated:
I recommend getting a job if they’re broke. They shouldn’t record a video revealing their financial situation and the identity of Etta’s father. People all throughout the world work hard and do not rely on others’ celebrity to make money.”
The relationship between the mother and daughter has been troubled for years, to the extent that the actress claimed Chok Lam was not her daughter. She was concerned about how she was living, so she always came to her rescue.
Authorities reportedly detained Yi-lei in 2015 for child maltreatment, but eventually released her. Following that incident, Chok Lam, who lived with her in an apartment in Happy Valley, dropped out of school and moved to North Point with Autumn after coming out.
The Miss Asia winner also discussed her daughter’s well-being, stating that she suffered from mental troubles and had been visiting a medical practitioner before leaving Hong Kong but has not been to treatment since.
Yi-Lei also asserted that Autumn, a woman in her thirties with teaching experience, had a negative influence on her daughter. The worried mother questioned how she could allow Chok Lam to film a video when her intention was to discipline her. “It’s wrong,” she said.
The mother of one reprimanded the two for blaming their parents for their choices, demonstrating how Hong Kong residents continue to work despite receiving a fair wage.
Autumn and Chok Lam fled Hong Kong, and her mother reported the former missing. She was 18 at the time, had quit her job, and had gone missing for months, prompting her mother to file a missing person report.
During that time, CCTV footage captured Chok Lam and Autumn in a convenience shop, telling the clerk that she was looking for her father. Sources claim that the meeting took place in Canada, but the exact location is still unknown.
Chok Lam spoke openly about her feelings regarding her father for the first time when she was 15. She had no desire to forgive him for being absent throughout her life, and she did not seek money from him.
“He is not my father.” I don’t have feelings for him. He is my biological father, yet he is not present in my life.He has never existed in my life. I will never consider him a father. I wouldn’t say he’s my father. I would remark, “Oh, Jackie Chan is an actor.”
Chok Lam was born after her parents stopped their romance, which had begun in 1998. Chan saw his connection with Yi-Lei as a flaw. Chok Lam, for her part, refused to consider him her father despite having grown up watching his films.
Chok Lam stated that she would never refer to the “Rush Hour” celebrity as her father. She highlighted that she had no negative thoughts toward her father, but she couldn’t tell what type of person he was because they didn’t know one another well enough.
The rich actor’s daughter went on to say that she was in no position to criticize her father without knowing him, and that if she had been younger, she would have undoubtedly ruined his name, but because she was older, she selected her words carefully.
The “Who Am I” star refrained from talking about his daughter, asserting that it was preferable to keep some things private. Chok Lam’s mother had a drinking problem while raising her, and they struggled to form a mother-daughter bond.
Chok Lam chose not to reconnect with her mother for Chinese New Year, refusing to heal her strained relationship. In January 2023, the young woman declared she would rather be out on the streets than make amends with her mother.
“I’d rather be homeless and eat stale bread than reunite with my mother.”
Furthermore, as a youngster, people followed her about, believing she was affluent due to her father’s status, which was clearly not the case.
Chan announced in 2011 that he will not leave an inheritance to his daughter or singer-son Jaycee, whom he shares with his wife Joan Lin, after his death. Instead, his whole purported million-dollar inheritance would go to charity.
The “Drunken Master” actor, who is still one of the highest-paid entertainers, feels his kid should be able to support himself, and that if he can’t, he will be wasting his inheritance.
However, he changed his mind in 2018. After agreeing to donate all his money to charity, Chan changed his will to leave all his assets to Lin, his wife.
The star chose to leave everything to his wife, but his daughter struggled to feed. In October 2022, a netizen saw Chok Lam in Toronto, Canada, waiting for the distribution of free food to those in need. Someone took a picture of her, and it quickly went viral on the internet.
The then-22-year-old was apparently seen standing in line with the elderly and middle-aged women, holding a blue bag. The source stated that Chok Lam earned his living by working at a Chinatown eatery.
People have expressed pity for Chok Lam and called on her father to notice her on social media, urging him to cater to her and demonstrate his concern.
Meanwhile, it appears that Chok Lam’s relationship with Autumn has come to an end, which was her mother’s greatest fear, as she believed her daughter had married her for selfish reasons.
According to netizens, Chok Lam erased images of her wife from her social media profiles. Accounts indicate that Autumn had also taken similar actions. Chok Lam previously refuted the assertion that Autumn grew close to her because she believed her father’s status made her wealthy.
In December 2018, she announced her aspirations to establish her own identity by launching her creative business in Hong Kong alongside Autumn. The Hong Kong native revealed a wish to escape free of her estranged father’s shadow, stating that she never used his surname.
In the summer of 2023, people online chastised Chan for supposedly leaving his openly homosexual daughter, Chok Lam, in response to a viral video clip depicting him as a caring parent. The incident concerning the 69-year-old film actor began after an emotional moment from his film “Ride On” went viral.
Initially well-received, public opinion turned as revelations about Chan’s genuine connection with his daughter emerged, sparking considerable condemnation. Social media commenters accused Chan of disowning his daughter because of her sexual orientation, highlighting their alienation, particularly while she struggled financially.
Despite the initial misunderstanding over the emotional footage, in which Chan played a retired stuntman and film star named Luo Zhilong (Lao Luo), many later addressed his estranged connection with Chok Lam on social media.
“[Every] time I hear about this father and his children, it’s always something bad.” “He’s a bad father,” a user commented. “The fact that not only is that an actor in a movie and not her genuine daughter, but that he is alienated from his real-life daughter because she is homosexual, is surely something, huh? “This isn’t wholesome at all,” said a second user.
Another commenter wondered, “[Why] is no one pointing out that this isn’t his daughter and that he is a terrible father?” Another person questioned, “Didn’t he disown his daughter because she was a lesbian?” According to reports, Chan has never met his daughter, nor has he offered any financial support or participated in her upbringing.
Jackie Chan and his daughter crying while watching some of his old movie scenes is the most wholesome thing you’ll watch today.
Thanks for our childhood legend ❤️ pic.twitter.com/SnCDFR9X2Q
— 𝕋𝔼𝔾𝔸™ 🌍 (@Tegadeyforyou) July 3, 2023