Peng Shuai denied making an accusation of sexual assault against a top Chinese official during a video interview on Sunday. She claimed that a social media post she made in November had been misunderstood.
“First, I need to stress one point that is extremely important, I have never said or written that anyone has sexually assaulted me, I have to clearly stress this point,” Peng said in the video posted by Lianhe Zaobao, a Singapore media outlet.
“With regards to Weibo, it’s about my personal privacy … There’s been a lot of misunderstanding … There [should be] no distorted interpretation,” Peng said, referring to the original post to the Chinese social media platform, without elaborating.
In the November post, Peng Shuai appeared to allege that a former Chinese vice premier, Zhang Gaoli, had sexually assaulted her in the past. The post was promptly deleted and she was not seen in public for almost three weeks, prompting concern among several groups.
Peng said that she had been living at home in Beijing without supervision and that she had personally written a letter to the Women’s Tennis Association boss, Steve Simon, in which she denied the assault allegations after they suspended tournaments in Chine because of fear for her well being.
Peng did not mention Zhang during the interview.
Peng Shuai has so far held two video calls with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) with Beijing just weeks away from hosting the Winter Games.
Sources: BBC, MSN
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