"The Joy of Life" actor Zhang Ruoyun‘s (张若昀) is suing his own father, Zhang Jian (张健) over a contract dispute. His father is a filmmaker, writer and director. Zhang Ruoyun formally filed the lawsuit against his father and Zheljiang Nanbeihu Mengdu Film Co., Ltd, the case opened on April 21, 2021.
His own father apparently forged his signature to sign contracts for Ruoyun to film four projects with Huace Group between April 2017 through September 2019. When the plan failed to follow through, Huace Group began the legal process on March 8, 2021 to have Ruoyun pay them $22-million USD for terminating the alleged contract with them.
Ruoyun stated on Weibo, "No contract was signed, no money was received." He also told the court that the signature was forged by his father, and desired that the judge would dismiss the case. The Zhejiang Higher People’s Court in January 2021 denied his request, and that lead Ruoyun to do what he didn't wish to do. His dad stated that his son did indeed authorize the cooperation agreement, it was with him through Wechat. His father said that Ruoyun wished for him and Mengdu to negotiate, confirm and sign on his behalf. Ruoyun didn't sign the contract personally but his signature seal is fixed on the contract.