WAS Taiwanese sex bomb Amber An forced to strip?

The issue has caused much between tension An and another celebrity, and started an online war between their fans.

It started when Taiwan's Next Magazine published a report on Wednesday claiming Reebok's regional manager Tony Zhao had tried to coerce the 26-year-old model and singer into shedding her clothes during a photo shoot for the brand.

The 34D babe recently became the Taiwan ambassador for the international sports shoe and apparel company in a reported NT$1 million ($42,500) endorsement deal.

In one photo, she appears to be completely nude except for a pair of shoes, with her legs folded in front to protect her modesty.

British model Kelly Brook had appeared in exactly the same pose last year for the same label.

In another shot, An wears a short feather skirt and a pair of shoes slung over her chest.

The Next Magazine report claimed that Mr Zhao, regional manager for the label and husband of popular Malaysian singer Fish Leong, then attempted to "force An to strip" for another scintillating pose.

Raunchy

He reportedly wanted her to sprawl on the ground in nothing except the shoes, similar to what Brook had done in an advertisement campaign for the brand last year.

Brook's raunchy 12m long billboards, placed at busy traffic junctions in the UK, was blasted by safety campaigners as a "deadly distraction" as men craned their necks for a closer look.

An reportedly thought for 30 minutes but eventually rejected the suggestion.

The tabloid's report has made Leong and her husband see red.

Apple Daily reported on Thursday the 33-year-old singer threw a fit after reading how her husband had allegedly tried to "force An to strip".

Leong's manager told Apple Daily: "Fish is very upset now and has expressed her objections to (Next Magazine)...

"The sports label paid Amber An for the advertisements and both parties communicated before on how it would be done. How can you say she was forced?

"We reasonably suspect it's Amber An's camp trying to stir up publicity."

Mr Zhao was also reportedly outraged and rebuked the Next Magazine article.

The magazine, however, is standing by its report.

A representative told Apple Daily: "We are only concerned whether it's the truth, we are not concerned if it sounds nice or not."

Meanwhile, a representative from An's recording company denied the brouhaha was a publicity gimmick. "There's no need to create news like this. It does not add value to either the artiste or the sports label."

An - formerly a comedienne in the Taiwanese variety Celebrity Imitated Show: The Largest Political Party - used to flaunt her cleavage and slender figure in many photo shoots and public appearances.

She has also appeared near-nude in some shoots.

In 2009, she appeared on the cover of Next Magazine wearing only C-string underwear. That's G-string without the waist string, instead the C-shaped piece is held firmly in place by a flexible internal frame.

It earned her much attention and the label, Queen of C-string.

An later claimed in a TV interview that she had actually worn a pair of shorts under the C-string but it was later digitally removed.

She said she cried during the photo shoot but didn't dare to voice out her worries as she was a rookie then.

With her angelic face and sexy figure, An quickly became the No. 1 "goddess" to Taiwan's male otakus - people with obsessive interests, particularly anime, manga, or video games.

She was also voted the world's sexiest woman in Taiwan's FHM this year, beating model Lin Chi Ling who held the honour for the last four years.

An is also the face for a lingerie company, an online game, a USB flash drive, a skincare label and a gold jewellery company.

Very possibly in response to the controversy, An wrote on her Weibo account (a Chinese version of Twitter) on Thursday that she was extremely unhappy.

She didn't say whether Mr Zhao had tried to force her to shed her clothes in the photo shoot. The issue has now escalated into an online war.

Leong's fans left scorching remarks on An's Weibo, calling her names and swearing at her for allegedly using Leong's fame to create news for herself.

An's fans also retaliated by lambasting Leong's fans on An's Weibo.

An, who flew to Japan yesterday for work, pleaded in a Weibo post yesterday: "Please do not over-speculate. There's no need for me to create this piece of news. It doesn't benefit me, so why would I step on my own foot?

"For those who truly care about me, I will continue to work hard for you." Flash for cash?

In their report on Wednesday, Next Magazine also alleged that if paid the right sum of money, An is willing to show skin.

An's manager however, denied that the starlet will flash for cash.

She told the magazine in the same report: "Amber has never been one to show skin as and when endorsements pay her to.

"It depends on the product's branding and image. Like for this endorsement, it's an international label and Amber's healthy and sexy image fits the product.

"It was a happy collaboration because (the amount of skin showed) was within our limits."

In contrast to her earlier daring photos, An has recently began covering herself up during TV appearances and fan meets.

It was reportedly an order from some of the companies that she's a spokesman for.

But An's attempts to cover up has upset her male fans.

When she released her debut album Evil Girl in August, she reportedly promised she would hold a fan-meet wearing a bikini if album sales hit more than 10,000 copies. The album is also on sale here.

However, in two ticketed concerts held in Taipei and Kaohsiung last week, she was fully clothed and left male supporters shouting for her to fulfil her bikini promise.

An is scheduled to visit Singapore to promote her album this month.