TAIPEI, Oct 20 — It looks like Jay Chou’s friendship with magician Will Tsai may have gone poof!
The Taiwanese Mandopop king dropped a cryptic post on Instagram Stories on October 15, sparking chatter that he’s fallen out with his long-time pal, Taiwanese-Canadian illusionist Will Tsai.
Chou, who wrapped up his Carnival World Tour in Shanghai just days earlier, shared a photo of Tsai with three question marks and wrote in Chinese: “Has anyone seen this magician Will Tsai, who made himself disappear? Let me know.”
He didn’t stop there. In the same Story, Chou added, “This guy has been missing for a while, feeding me excuses which I actually bought, so that he could finish his performance. Do you think I am not a magician? If you don’t show up, you’re done.”
Ouch.
Not long after, Tsai — best known for his America’s Got Talent stint back in 2017 — responded on his own Instagram Story, saying in English: “Sorry will stay off social for another bit. Expect temp void of response.”
Chou, 46, has since unfollowed Tsai, 41, on Instagram, which for fans is pretty much the celebrity equivalent of slamming the door shut.
The two weren’t just casual friends either. Tsai was a regular on Chou’s variety travel show J-Style Trip (2020–2025), and the duo even wowed audiences with a song-and-magic combo at China’s Spring Festival Gala in 2018.
But according to Taiwan’s The Mirror, the sudden chill might have a less-than-magical explanation — a money dispute reportedly involving over NT$100 million (RM13.7 million).
Sources told the outlet that Chou had been trying to reach Tsai for months to settle the issue, which allegedly caused losses to third parties and even led to Chou’s company, JVR Music, receiving legal demands.
JVR Music, which Chou co-founded, declined to comment on the report.
Fans, meanwhile, are still reeling from the revelation, wondering if one of Mandopop’s most surprising duos has really reached the final act.
After all, it seems even magic can’t make this friendship reappear.