South Korean singer Irene, the leader of K-pop girl group Red Velvet, has apologised after she was accused of bullying a stylist.
On Wednesday (Oct 21), a stylist who said she has 15 years of experience in the industry wrote on social media about an unpleasant experience with an unnamed celebrity.
She wrote that she felt humiliated and cried after being "trampled and abused".
While the stylist did not mention any names, she used the hashtags #psycho and #monster.
Psycho is a song recorded by Red Velvet, while Monster is recorded by Irene & Seulgi, a sub-unit of Red Velvet.
In an Instagram post late on Thursday, Irene, 29, wrote in Korean: "I sincerely apologise for hurting the stylist with my foolish attitude and careless words and actions.
"I am able to get to where I am now due to help from many people and I regret my immature actions which have caused great hurt."
SM Entertainment, Red Velvet's agency, also released a statement saying it will work hard to prevent such incidents from recurring. It added that Irene, whose real name is Bae Joo-hyun, had met the stylist and apologised to her on Thursday afternoon.
The activities of Red Velvet, whose other members are Seulgi, Wendy, Joy and Yeri, have been affected as a result.
K-Pop fans excited over the return of Red Velvet's Wendy after her stage accident last December
Red Velvet's Seulgi and Blackpink's Jisoo delight fans with IG interaction
They were due to attend an online fan meeting as part of Korean Culture Festival 2020 on Saturday, but SM has told the organisers they would not be doing so.
Irene is starring in upcoming film Double Patty, her first movie, but some have wondered if its release would be affected. – The Straits Times/Asia News Network
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