Aaron Kwok & Andy Hui Slam Near-Naked Shots By Leslie Kee

We’re huge fans of Singaporean fashion photographer Leslie Kee [See our previous article on SuperMag 2] so imagine what we were like when “Super Stars”, a pictorial culmination of 3 years of hard labour was birthed recently.
The “Super Stars” photo exhibition showcasing 300 top-billing Asian stars opened in Japan earlier this month to great response and is now showing in Hong Kong. However it has now drawn protests from Hong Kong actor-singers Aaron Kwok and Andy Hui, whose managers have complained that pictures of their clients are too racy for public consumption.
The 7000 limited copies which is being sold as a book to raise funds for victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, includes pictures of top Asian stars including actresses Zhang Ziyi and Shu Qi, singer Faye Wong and action star Tony Jaa.
The women are generally dressed in colorful outfits – Gong Li is shown in a head shot and Zhang Ziyi wears a silver and purple dress – but the men are in different stages of undress.
Kwok, who just won best actor at the Chinese Oscars, the Golden Horse Awards, is shown standing, holding a pair of jeans to conceal his genitals.
Hui is shown lying back with a pair of jeans in between his crotch. His pubic hair is visible.
Kwok’s manager, Leung May-may, said in a statement Kwok was wearing black swim trunks at the time of the photo shoot but that his image was digitally altered to show him naked.
“It’s acceptable to use sexiness as a theme, but the limits we agreed on during the shoot should be followed,” Leung said.
Kwok said in the same statement that companies he advertises for have “complained slightly, putting slight pressure on me.”

The above pictures of a sarong-clad Kwok were also taken by Leslie for a marketing campaign for a fitness centre. We’re guessing the digitally altered image was taken off this same batch of photos.
Hui’s manager, Wallace Kwok confirmed to The Associated Press that his photo wasn’t tampered with but that they had asked Kee, the photographer, not to show the picture in public.
He said Kee, who shot photos for Hui’s new album, had originally shot Hui topless and wearing jeans but wasn’t happy with the outcome and pushed for more nudity.
Kwok said Hui relented but after viewing the photos didn’t want them to be used in public.
“We think the pictures are beautiful. It’s a healthy form of sexiness, but we also understand if the pictures are released they’ll provoke a reaction. It may not be suitable,” he said.
Kwok said Hui skipped the opening ceremony of Kee’s exhibit in protest.
Personally, we thought Leslie Kee did a great job with the digital alteration. The resulting image is evocatively great to look at. What’s the difference between hiding your genitals behind a pair of denims and a speedo? And what’s the big deal with showing a wee bit of pubic hair? You mean celebrities aren’t supposed to have them?
Furthermore, there are illuminating sources which now say that it was actually Kwok’s manager, Leung, who suggested digitally altering the original image so the Heavenly King need not strip further to achieve what Leslie had in mind. But the former is now denying that and blaming the entire incident on the photographer, insinuating a lack of integrity. Ahhh… the plot thickens.
Whatever the furore, we’ll let Super Stars do it’s own talking. We reckon it’ll fly off the shelves faster than you can say SPEEDO!
[More wonderful shots from Super Stars after the jump] Could this be the black speedo?

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