Did a Crypto Bro Pay $4.5 Million to Marry a Movie Star? A Scandal Grips China
Justin Sun says he is suing actress Jing Tian to recover a staggering sum after his marriage hopes unraveled
SINGAPORE—Imagine a crypto billionaire paying a supposed $4.5 million fee so he can marry a Hollywood star—and then hiring a celebrity lawyer to get the cash back when the romance fizzled.
That, essentially, is the made-for-TMZ drama that has transfixed China over the past weeks.
The real-life cast features Justin Sun, a crypto titan known for elaborate publicity stunts; Jing Tian, a top Chinese actress who has crossed over into Hollywood; and Zhang Qihuai, a big-name lawyer who specializes in high-profile brawls.
As the story swept through China, the nation cycled through three collective reactions.
First: Wait, those two were together?
Second: The bride fee was how much?
Third: Is any of this actually real?
That doubt comes partly from Sun’s history of viral antics, which include postponing a $4.6 million charity lunch with Warren Buffett, and buying—and promptly eating—a $6.2 million banana that had been duct-taped to a wall as art.
It also stems from the disclaimer at the bottom of Sun’s post on X, titled “My Girlfriend Jing Tian.”
In the rambling essay, he said he had a crush on the actress since college, rented out a theater to watch “Zootopia 2” for a date and wired her family $4.5 million for a so-called bride fee, a traditional Chinese gift from a groom’s family to the bride’s family before marriage. He also detailed an intimate encounter involving fingernails.
When she later requested $50 million to have their child via a surrogacy in Southern California, Sun wrote, he consulted the AI model Claude—and took its advice to not pay.
Then at the end of the post, he wrote: “This article is entirely fictional; any resemblance to actual events or persons is purely coincidental.”
Yet what followed suggested the drama wasn’t entirely fake.
That same day, Zhang, the celebrity lawyer, said on Chinese social media that a court had accepted Sun’s lawsuit seeking the return of 30 million Chinese yuan, equivalent to $4.5 million, from Jing and her parents.
The next day, without specifying what she was referring to, the actress posted that she had “poor judgment” in men but “will never sell my love for money.” She added that “I believe in the law” and that “justice and fairness will ultimately prevail.”
A representative for Jing didn’t respond to a request for comment.
In written response to questions sent via his lawyer, Sun confirmed the lawsuit was to recover a bride fee. “We dated with marriage in mind,” he said.
He said as the couple prepared for medical procedures to have a child in the U.S., the “other party”—whom he didn’t name directly—demanded $50 million. When he refused to pay, he added, the other side cut off contact. “The engagement could no longer proceed,” he said.
The mix of star power, eye-popping wealth and references to an ancient wedding tradition made the saga an instant media obsession in China.
Sun, 36, grew up in China, earned a master’s at the University of Pennsylvania and founded blockchain company Tron in 2017. He is now worth about $8.5 billion, according to Forbes.
His career has been controversial. The Securities and Exchange Commission sued him in 2023 over alleged market manipulation, a case settled this year without Sun admitting or denying wrongdoing.
The settlement followed Sun’s investment in the Trump family’s crypto venture, which Sun said wasn’t politically motivated. The president has said he isn’t personally involved with the venture, World Liberty Financial. Sun has since sued World Liberty over alleged fraud, a suit the company has called meritless.
The British government and the European Union recently sanctioned his HTX crypto exchange over alleged ties to Russia, concerns the company said at the time it was addressing. HTX didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Jing, 38, has headlined blockbusters in both China and Hollywood, starring opposite Matt Damon in “The Great Wall” and appearing in “Kong: Skull Island” and “Pacific Rim Uprising.” She is no stranger to public romance, having previously dated Olympic table-tennis champion Zhang Jike, a national icon.
Despite Sun’s disclaimer that his account was fiction, some in the Chinese public treated his essay as fact. Many online commentators sided against him for airing details of a private relationship.
“To treat his former girlfriend with such viciousness is evil on a whole other level,” Hu Xijin, former editor of the state-run Global Times and one of China’s most prominent political commentators, said on social media. But he added that it is reasonable for an unmarried man to ask for his bride fee back.