Jay Chou denies demanding star treatment for daughter at clinic

Taiwan pop singer Jay Chou has denied he used his celebrity status to demand special treatment and privileges for his baby daughter. The newborn’s visit to an OB-GYN (obstetrics and gynecology) clinic for a BCG vaccination drew criticism from other patients, who accused the famous singer of having the waiting room closed off and leaving other parents with babies in tow to sit in the stairwell.

According to witnesses, Jay and wife Hannah Quinlivan were not present with their daughter, who was brought in by two family friends. At the clinic, they skipped the registration counter and went directly to a waiting room that had been closed off specially.

Angry complaints included, “We pay the same and yet this makes us feel lousy!”

While attending a charity basketball match yesterday, Jay denied the reports that he had demanded special treatment for his daughter, saying, “Getting shots is the same for everyone, you make an appointment and then you show up, there are no privileges to be had.”

He confirmed he had not been present at the clinic, saying, “I watched [my daughter] receive her vaccination through videocam.”

When asked for comments, the OB-GYN clinic in question denied that Jay’s daughter got privileged treatment, and clarified that when administering BCG vaccines only one baby is allowed in at a time, and though it may be accompanied by its parents, all others must wait outside.

Regarding comments that parents were “sitting on the stairs with their babies like a crowd of refugees,” the clinic’s public relations team said, “Sometimes the queue goes all the way to the first floor,” emphasising that the crowdedness was because the clinic had little floor space.

At yesterday’s basketball event, Jay stressed that he preferred to take care of things himself. “If we’re in Taiwan, we’d be in charge of our affairs, just without being tailed by paparazzi.”

Regarding speculation that Jay had spent a whopping NT$2.2 million (approximately S$95,000) on booking an entire confinement centre for Hannah to recover from childbirth in comfort, he said, “No way, that’s impossible, that’s crazy. Actually I’m like regular people, I just wish for privacy, so we got the top floor, though there were other people staying on that floor too.”

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