Jackie Chan's estranged daughter claims to be homeless and living under a bridge
Given that their parents have unimaginable riches and resources at their disposal, you'd think that the children of wealthy celebrities would never have to deal with a problem as severe as homelessness. Unfortunately, that isn't always the case.
Etta Ng Chok Lam, who goes by "Etta Ng", is the daughter of Jackie Chan. Ng's mother, Elaine Ng Yi-Lei, had an affair with the martial arts actor more than two decades ago: something that Chan later described as a "serious mistake". Ng is estranged from her father, and - if a recent video is anything to go by - it seems that he has not helped her at all in her current life situation.
In fact, Ng claims that she has been left homeless after her "homophobic parents" left her and her girlfriend - social media influencer Andi Autumn - to fend for themselves.
"Hi I’m Jackie Chan’s daughter and this is my girlfriend Andi," the 19-year-old said in a YouTube video. "We’ve been homeless for a month due to homophobic parents. We pretty much slept under a bridge and other things."
"I’ve asked all my friends for help," said Autumn. "I’ve asked all my family for help. Everyone just keeps sending us to the directions of shelters, where they know we will be split up."
Ng then went on to explain that, though they have reached out for help from multiple places, nobody seems to care about the couple's well-being.
"I don’t even understand. We’ve gone to the police, we’ve gone to the hospital, the food banks, LGBTQ community shelters and all of them just don’t give a s**t. Two people in love that share love are trying not to get split apart and they’re trying to f**k us over just because – I don’t understand it – I love her."
In 2015, Ng made this statement about Chan:
"He is my biological father but he is not in my life. He never existed in my life. I will never regard him as a father ... I am not angry with my father, and have never wished to see him. As long as I have my mother with me, I don't need my father."
With that in mind, many people questioned why she was bringing up her relation to him now.
One YouTuber commented: "Even if you had a relationship with your father, he's stated publicly that he has no interest in helping his children financially and he wants you all to make your own way into the world. I realize you used his name to draw more attention to your plight but he's not going to give you anything."
What's more, many people were keen to mention that Autumn - who is 12 years older than Ng - originally met Chan's daughter after becoming her tutor. "You are 18 now but apparently you started dating your girlfriend when you were underage and she was in her 20s... your family and friends are probably upset that you're dating a child predator/groomer," wrote YouTuber ladydontekno.
In the video description, Ng wrote:
"At this point we have no where to go because the friend of Andi's that is helping, can no longer house us. We understand people who are busy but this is a bit much. And now I can only turn to the internet for help as there is strength in numbers.
"We don't know the next time we will have internet access so we might be off the grid for a while. All I know is that our love is stronger than this but we are getting tired of it. No one we know, family, friend or government services will help."
Unfortunately, their pleas for help have not garnered a great deal of sympathy. Most comments simply urged the pair to find jobs, or to accept separate shelter accommodation until they can get back on their feet. Perhaps we're not getting the whole story here, but - to a lot of people - it seems like help is available if they want it.
Whatever the circumstances, we hope that the couple manages to work something out very soon.