Jay Chou on the hunt for magician friend who did disappearing act over $4.2m dispute
Lim Ruey Yan
The Straits Times
Oct 19, 2025
Has Taiwanese singer Jay Chou fallen out with his good friend, Taiwanese-Canadian magician Will Tsai?
Chou, who completed his Carnival World Tour in Shanghai on Oct 11, alluded to a dispute in a post on Instagram Stories on Oct 15.
Posting a photo of Tsai with three question marks, Chou wrote in Chinese: "Has anyone seen this magician Will Tsai, who made himself disappear? Let me know."
The Mandopop superstar continued: "This guy has been missing for a while, feeding me excuses which I actually bought, so that he could finish his performance. Do you think I am not a magician? If you don't show up, you're done."
Tsai, who took part in reality show America's Got Talent in 2017, posted on Instagram Stories about an hour later and wrote in English: "Sorry will stay off social for another bit. Expect temp void of response."
Chou, 46, has since unfollowed Tsai, 41, on Instagram.
The two previously had a good relationship, with Tsai being a regular cast member of Chou's travel variety show J-Style Trip (2020 to 2025). They also collaborated on a performance combining magic and Chou's song Love Confession (2016) at China Central Television's Spring Festival Gala in 2018.
According to an exclusive report by Taiwanese media outlet Mirror Daily on Oct 16, Chou and Tsai are believed to have fallen out over money. Based on the report, sources said Chou has been seeking out Tsai for months over a dispute involving more than NT$100 million (S$4.2 million).
Insiders compared the unfolding of the dispute to one of Tsai's signature magic tricks, and said it caused third-party losses. This led Chou's company, JVR Music, to receive legal demands from third parties.
JVR Music, a label and artiste management company co-founded by Chou, declined to comment when it was approached by Mirror Daily.
