Baoman CEO Ren Jian responded to the follow-up of the "Tang Maru incident" that "I never owed you wages, but you have a big appetite"

Yesterday (August 8), Li Di, the original actor of "Tang Ma Ru" in the Baozou Comics, posted on Weibo that he had been treated unfairly by the Baozou Comics.

Event Review>>> The actor who played "Tang Maru" in the "Baozou Big Event" posted that he will no longer be Tang Maru

Today, Ren Jian, CEO of Baozou Manhua, responded to this matter on Zhihu, saying that Baozou Manhua had never owed Li Di's salary, but what could not be controlled was that his appetite was getting bigger and bigger. Currently, both parties have their own opinions.

The full text is as follows:

Starting a business is really not that glamorous. I originally wanted to hide all my hardships and just show everyone our works to win the audience's love, but various things that have happened recently have forced me to come forward to clarify and explain. To be honest, these are normal business and industry disputes, but once we are involved, it seems that we have become the most hateful and worst existence.

Sometimes I doubt myself: have we really, really done so many bad things?

As a creative company, we strive to create better works. We have not received much attack and slander from the works themselves. Instead, we have been subjected to overwhelming attacks on the company's management and operations. If you think about it carefully, this is kind of irony.

To borrow a line from one of my favorite movies, Gladiator – Are you not entertained?

Next, I will talk about business as an entrepreneur and manager.

First of all, the 200,000 yuan is a public-to-public lawsuit between Baozou Company and Shenzhen Li Di Culture Communication Co., Ltd. The purpose of the lawsuit is to request Li Di Company to stop using the name of "MC Zilong" without authorization to seek profits, because at that time Li Di Company had made far more profits through MC Zilong than this amount. This case has nothing to do with Tang Maru. Baozou won the first instance. Currently, we are in the second instance and we are quietly waiting for the court's decision.

As for the rest, I remember that Wang Nima said these things on Zhihu during the years when Mr. Li Di and I had the deepest conflicts.

First of all, Tang Maru, played by Mr. Li Di, is our company’s top star. He has more experience than Zhang Quandan and his level is almost the same as Lao Wang.

Secondly, Lao Wang has said many times through various channels that in the early and middle stages of the Baozou Big Event, when Mr. Li Di was there, our company was simply unable to make ends meet.

So, yes, you are right, I did exploit Tang Maru.

Not only that, I also exploited Wang Nima severely.

Many employees were exploited.

I also squeezed myself, leaving nothing behind.

Why?

To earn money in the future.

At that time, we were first a group of creators who demanded the best quality of their works, and only then a startup company. As a startup company, we had no way of earning money through advertising or other channels and could only rely on financing to maintain operations. At that time, we could only paint a rosy picture for our employees. I think this is not the way a startup company like us would do.

Mr. Li Di was very capable. With just a few strokes, he ignored the law, the contract, and objective factors, and portrayed us as a sweatshop, the kind of "violent capital that exploits the working people" that the masses loved to see. He made money by exploiting him, as if he had pocketed all the money that should have been his. He looked like the biggest victim, but never mentioned one thing - he was the one we strongly supported at the time, and we had spent countless efforts to portray him, and he was the well-deserved top star.

He only needs to be responsible for the performance, but we need to pave the way for his future, plan a blueprint for him, and enable all the screenwriters to strive for perfection in their character design.

However, at that time, the company was not making a penny, and for a long time there was not a single advertisement in our program. So, I told Li Di countless times in an earnest manner that he should not ruin the long-term future of this IP for the sake of immediate petty profits. We really do not have extra money to give you now, but as long as you can hold on for the moment, we will definitely make you an performing star like Bai Ke and others who is involved in various fields and will not have to worry about fame or fortune.

But, Li Di, how did you do it?

You took private work behind the company's back under the name of Tang Maru, and modified the registration information and password of Tang Maru's Weibo without authorization. You still did it knowingly after communicating with him several times. We know that you are the top star and the most popular character, but we are the company, not your parents or relatives. The character of Tang Maru is an important asset tied to Baozou. We have a written treaty, a contract, and a legal obligation to jointly protect him, but you repeatedly violated the treaty for the sake of a little immediate benefit, and countless attempts to persuade you have been fruitless.

If we don't sue you, we will be sorry to our other colleagues who work diligently.

If you, the top star, take the lead in doing this, how should we manage the other employees?

If you make a mistake outside using the character of Tang Maru, does the company have to bear all the consequences?

You only think about how much traffic and fame the character of Tang Maru has brought to the company, but have you ever thought about how much effort and responsibility the company needs to put into this role?

Then, two years ago, the court ruled that you lost the case (I hope everyone can be more rational and trust the court), and we thought the matter was over. However, less than a month after the ruling, your company arbitrarily took the character of MC Zilong, created by Big Event, to film a show and participate in a commercial event.

We have reminded and warned you many times, but you remained unmoved for three months and have repeatedly accepted commercial performances under the name of MC Zilong. How can I be worthy of other partners who abide by professional ethics if I don't sue you?

The case that is now in the second instance, the case in which you tagged us and took photos, is MC Zilong's case and has nothing to do with Tang Maru. But I didn't expect that you are still using this name to make things clear.

Two years ago, when you accepted media interviews without authorization, you used the name "Not Tang Maru". Two years later, you are still using the name "Not Tang Maru". It's been two years, brother. What have you done in these two years? Can you please give yourself some respect?

You said the terms of the contract were harsh.

Yes, because I want you to be better, I want you to not have to spend 30 takes to record a line of less than ten words, I want you to be as funny as you are on the screen without a screenwriter, I want your value to skyrocket, I want to make you the top star of the Crazy Family.

But not only did you not make progress, but for the sake of some quick money, you personally destroyed your relationship with the company, destroyed Tang Maru, and destroyed MC Zilong.

You say that we squeeze you, exploit you, and oppress you in the form of a big company. Why don't you return our hard work, the hard work of the screenwriters, and everyone's love for you?

I don't want to say anything more. I just want to say this to you, Mr. Li Di: If you had been able to accompany us through that difficult period when we were not making any money and fulfilled your responsibilities, what would the situation be like now?

You know what? If you were still here, fulfilling your responsibilities, abiding by your promises like an adult, and sticking with us like most of the employees, who would be the lead actor when we released the movie? How much fame and fortune would you get?

Make money later.

Make money later.

Make money later.

Now, we have reached the threshold of "the future", but you have severed all ties with us. We should have never had any contact with each other again, but you are still crying in front of the public to gain sympathy. You have lost several court cases, but the whole world thinks that Baozou is a villain. Mr. Li Di, believe me, I want to cry more than you.

Finally, Lao Wang told me that he has many other classmates who are considering joining Baozou in his Zhihu private messages. Here I want to say that if you want to make easy money, please don’t come. You may not last more than a month. Our employees who have stayed now are all working as two people.

You say I'm just trying to fill my own pockets? Then I wouldn't quit my job at an investment bank to start my own business.

Starting a business is a life-and-death struggle. To be honest, even if our movie is sold now, our company has not actually survived yet, because before the birth of this movie, our positioning was just an online variety show. The commercial advertising value and stability are not as good as those of a local TV variety show.

Over the years, we have a large number of fans and our programs have high click-through rates, but in fact we have no foothold in the industry at all, no wild money-making ability, and we can't even pay our employees wages above the market price. Especially in the past one or two years, not only have all our money been invested in movies, but we have also experienced many crises that almost led to our disbandment. Although we look glamorous on the outside, we have to endure a lot of hardships on our own.

However, if one day, when our company has truly survived the ups and downs, and has established a reputation, a foundation, and a foothold in major industries such as movies or games, I will definitely repay all the employees who have accompanied us through the ups and downs.

In the future, in the future, I believe, it is not far away.

-over-

Ps: Let me focus on responding to those comments that we didn’t pay him, or that we owed him wages, or that our wages were too low:

We, Baozou, have never delayed his salary, but what we cannot control is that his appetite is becoming increasingly bigger.

He said that if he wanted to continue to perform the contract, he would need to be paid an additional 200,000 yuan. Our highest-paid employee at the time did not even have 200,000 yuan a year, so we really couldn't afford it, so we rejected him. All previous wages were settled in the same month, without any arrears.

PPS:

I started my company in its early stages, and even now, there are still many shortcomings.

If it's not enough, I will correct it. Please advise.

Thanks.