Taiwanese model and singer Amber An cleared the air regarding her latest scandal in a press conference here last Thursday, Oct 27. She was not forced to strip for a photo shoot, she said.
Last month, Taiwan's Next Magazine published a report claiming Reebok's regional manager Tony Zhao had tried to coerce the 26-year-old into shedding her clothes during the shoot.
He reportedly wanted her sprawled on the ground wearing nothing except the shoes.
An eventually rejected doing the pose.
Zhao's wife, Malaysian singer Fish Leong, was outraged by the report, and her manager accused An's camp of creating publicity for themselves.
It led to an online war between Leong's and An's supporters.
While An and her company denied they had staged the publicity stunt, the question remains - was she forced to strip?
When asked, An, who is here to promote her debut album Evil Girl, turned solemn and told The New Paper: "My agent was involved in the discussions (with Reebok) and everything went okay.
"We were all very happy during the photo shoot. I was not forced to strip."
An is no stranger to scintillating shots, having flaunted her cleavage and slender figure in many photo shoots and public appearances.
She's notorious in Taiwan for wearing only a C-string - so barely there it makes a G-string look like granny pants - on the cover of Next Magazine in 2009.
An appeared in two sexy photos for Reebok.
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.
In another shot, An wears a short feather skirt and a pair of shoes slung over her chest.
However, the Taiwanese media noted she has recently began covering up in TV appearances and fan meets.
At her press conference here yesterday, An was all sweet and pure in a white dress.
She has been told by her company to behave like a clean-cut idol, she told the local reporters.
But An is not about to throw her sex-bomb image away.
Revealing shots
"I will still take revealing photos, as long as they look good," said An, who was 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 not immune to criticism or negative reports about herself, but has found a way to cheer herself up.
"I used to get very sad because I'm the sort who broods a lot. Friends tell me to ignore the reports and concentrate on my work," she said.
"I don't Google and read news about myself. Nevertheless, these days, I read what netizens are saying about me in forums.
"Then I'll read comments left by my fans because their support always makes me feel better," she added.
An, who began her showbiz career impersonating other celebrities in the Taiwanese variety series Celebrity Imitated Show: The Largest Political Party, admitted she still has problems accepting her current status as an otaku goddess.
Otakus are people with obsessive interests, particularly anime, manga or video games.
An said she loves hamming it up in the comedy show, despite her current status as a babe. Making people laugh gives her a strong sense of accomplishment, she explained.
One of her most famous impersonations is of another voluptuous Taiwanese model-singer Yao Yao.
Said An: "I've always felt I'm not a real otaku goddess because I think she should be someone very beautiful and dream-like, like Yao Yao.
"When I became known as an otaku goddess, I believed it's because people remember my imitation of Yao Yao.
"Now, I really treasure being called an otaku goddess as I am often very ugly in my other impersonations in the TV show."
She also has to remind herself to be graceful and not look ugly when she's in public or having her photos taken.
Said An: "The title otaku goddess sits a bit awkwardly with me, and if anyone calls me that on the streets, I'll surely thank him or her."
[email protected]
This article was first published in The New Paper.
