The transcript below is from the video “The Secret Lover Of Bruce Lee Is Finally Revealed: Then and Now (1973 vs 2021)” by Celebrity Reporter.
Celebrity Reporter:
20 July, 1973. That was the day that made an entire nation mourn the loss of a legendary icon. That was also the day a relatively unknown Taiwanese actress, Betty Ting Pei rose to stardom. A stardom as the secret lover of Bruce Lee. A stardom that would forever associate her with the death of Bruce Lee. Details surrounding the death of Bruce Lee were uncanny. It was reported that Bruce Lee was practicing his script for Game Of Death with Betty Ting Pei when he suddenly had an intense headache. Betty gave him Equagesic, a painkiller containing meprobamate and aspirin as its main ingredients and allowed him to rest on her bed. She then proceeded to watch television. When she tried to wake Lee up from his nap, he was unresponsive and that was the last time the world saw Bruce Lee. Another version of story reported that Lee was taking sex enhancing drugs prior to making love with his secret mistress, Betty Ting Pei.
Celebrity Reporter:
It was said that the love making session was too intense, and Lee succumbed to his death at her bed. Whichever version of the story, it was an indisputable fact that Lee was found dead in the bed of his secret lover, Betty Ting Pei at her second-floor apartment at 67 Beacon Hill Road, Hong Kong. Did Betty really kill Bruce Lee? And if she did, why would she do so? She wasn’t answering the question. In fact, it can be seen that Betty is trying to avoid the question of how and why Bruce Lee died at her place. Some people sympathized with Betty and felt that she played no part in his death believing that she is innocent. Fans of Bruce Lee weren’t happy with her. In fact they felt she was avoiding all the responsibility of his death. How is it possible that someone as young and vital as Bruce Lee had departed at the age of 32? If so,
Celebrity Reporter:
What could Bruce Lee be doing in her apartment that led to his demise? It was reported prior to that, he was meeting with George Lazenby to discuss his participation in Game of Death. After the meeting, he swung by his business partner, Raymond Chow’s office to say that he wanted Lazenby in Game of Death. He was supposed to take Lazenby out to lunch, but Lee had other plans and canceled. He wanted to visit Betty Ting Pei’s apartment. The studio driver took Lazenby back to his hotel. Lee promised to be back at the studio in the afternoon to settle how much money to offer Lazenby. He jumped into his Mercedes and drove away. He arrived at Betty’s apartment at 67 Beacon Hill Road around 1 p.m. It was a one-bedroom with parquet flooring, wooden walls, and thick blue curtains. They spent the next several hours alone together and that would turn out to be his last moments of life. Bruce Lee’s business partner, Raymond Chow told the press that he collapsed at his home while walking in his garden with his wife, Linda Lee.
Celebrity Reporter:
However, the truth was soon discovered by the media. They found it weird that an ambulance had picked up Bruce Lee from a second-floor apartment at 67 Beacon Hill Road, an address that belonged to Betty but Lee’s home was at 41 Cumberland Road. If he had collapsed at his home, why would the ambulance go to Betty’s apartment instead of his home? The fact was Lee died in the apartment of Betty Ting Pei who at that time was the most attractive Taiwanese film star. His business partner was trying to avoid adding scandal to Lee’s untimely death. Raymond Chow’s lie was eventually exposed by the media. Bruce Lee was found in an apartment with a woman who was not his wife and at her bed unclothed. This caused speculation and rumors to surround the incident. Betty’s neighbors also confirmed that Lee had been a regular weekly visitor to her apartment for months prior to his death.
Celebrity Reporter:
Many have been left wondering, did Betty Ting Pei’s Fragrant Chamber Killed the Dragon? Who is Betty Ting Pei and what is she doing with Bruce Lee at the time leading to his death? People wanted an explanation, the media wanted an explanation, the nation wanted an explanation. None were letting go of Betty. She was immediately sought for an interview. Betty Ting Pei was an up-and-coming actress at the time of Lee’s death. She had signed with the Shaw Brothers Studio in Hong Kong in 1968 and already had several film credits to her name. When Lee was found dead in her apartment, the criticism, attention, and grief proved to be overwhelming for Betty. She blames the negative attention and constant association with the tragedy for ruining her career. While she did continue to act up until the 1980s including in some English-language films such as The Lost Generation and My Name Ain’t Suzie, her career never really took off, and she was not able to shake off the stigma of having been associated with Lee’s death. Not too long after Lee’s death, Betty married Charles Heung, a Hong Kong actor-turned-film producer, a movie mogul in 1976.
Celebrity Reporter:
She got married in order to put a stop to the controversy surrounding her with Lee’s death. The marriage only lasted for four years. He could not handle the pressure of being labelled as the “husband of the woman who killed Bruce Lee”. Life after divorce for Betty wasn’t a bed of roses. Just when the incident was fading away from people’s memory, Bruce Lee’s death anniversary would once again remind them of the brutal truth. Her nightmare would come, causing her life to turn upside down. She retired from showbiz entertainment. She did everything she could to prove that she was not guilty of murdering Bruce Lee. She converted herself to Buddhism and lived a quiet life away from the cameras. But the camera wasn’t giving up on her. The temple she was in was bombarded with reporters all the time, and she had no choice but to give another interview to show that she is now a changed woman. People were not taking it. They felt that she was responsible for Lee’s death, including the blame that she gave him the fatal painkiller, while others alleged that Lee died while making love to her.
Celebrity Reporter:
People wanted her dead. They wanted to bomb Betty Ting Pei to death. They knew Betty converted to Buddhism in order to be allowed to stay in the temple. Bomb threats was put in public square. Although it turned out to be a hoax filled only with rubbish, but over the next few weeks, more and more fake bombs were planted across the city with such messages as “Revenge for Bruce Lee.” Out of job and out of money, she did the unthinkable in 2003 during the 30th anniversary of Bruce Lee’s death. She no longer hides from the public eyes and even made an announcement at a press conference of her plans to write her autobiography detailing her relationship with Bruce Lee. She knew she could make use of people’s perception of her and Bruce Lee to make money. She would go on to appear in A Date With Luyu, which is China’s biggest talk show TV program where viewership for the program would reach millions.
Celebrity Reporter:
Chen Luyu, the host of the program has a popularity that even surpasses that of Oprah Winfrey. Let us watch what she has to say to the public. On airing, the show attracted millions upon millions of people watching. Her shocking revelations that Bruce Lee died of natural course, angered people, especially fans of Bruce Lee. Nonetheless in 2006, during a radio interview Betty admitted openly that she and Lee had been lovers for more than a year before his death. ‘I still have Bruce’s stuff in my house,’ she said. In 2008, she revealed that she had already written more than 7,000 words and that Taiwan, Hong Kong, Mainland China and overseas authors had offered to serve as her co-author. The project was halted indefinitely as Betty said that it was not “the right time” due to its complicated contents which involved other people.
Celebrity Reporter:
In 2013, forty years after Lee’s death, Betty once again admitted that she had an intimate relationship with Lee but said that she did not engage in any sexual activity with him on the day that he died. On 20 July 2015, also the 42nd anniversary of Bruce Lee’s death, The Best Time With Bruce Lee, the biography of her relationship with Bruce Lee was published by the Beijing Times Chinese Press. Unfortunately there is only the Chinese version available at this time. There is no new revelation in the book other than what has already been told. The book was mostly used to explain her relationship with Bruce and the aftermath that followed, including her entry into Buddhism. Thank you for watching, and do share this video to people who need it. See you in the next video.
