Actress Leila Tong sued over alleged contract breach and ‘manipulative conduct’

Former Hong Kong television actress Leila Tong Ning has been sued by her management agency for alleged contract breaches and manipulative behavior. The lawsuit was filed by Tenjinmura Ongaku Limited, which accuses Tong of abandoning her professional duties due to depression and changing her hair color without consent. The agency also claims Tong engaged in coercive behavior and accepted commercial engagements without the company's approval after their relationship ended in May 2024.

Tong, whose real name is Leila Kong Lai-na, rose to fame in the late 1990s and early 2000s with roles in films and television dramas. She signed with TVB in 2000 and became a regular fixture on the broadcaster's shows, earning multiple nominations for the Most Improved Female Artiste Award. In recent years, Tong has largely withdrawn from the public eye and relocated to New Zealand with her children.

According to the lawsuit, Tong exhibited "coercive conduct" and "threatening, self-harming and manipulative conduct" between 2021 and mid-2024 to force her agent, Cheang Pui-ying, to expand her social media presence. She was diagnosed with major depressive disorder and would often lash out physically when her agent asked her to work.

In November 2021, Tong was found hiding in a tree after a missing period. The following month, she allegedly stabbed herself twice with a fruit knife. Tong was hospitalized for three days and went missing again in April 2023 for seven hours. The lawsuit alleges that Tong's behavior became increasingly aggressive when asked to fulfill her professional obligations, forcing her agent to post content on her social media accounts against her will.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and access to Tong's social media accounts, as well as a declaration that her management contract remains active until September 2028.