K-pop star Jessi has posted a lengthy apology on Instagram following an incident where a male teenage fan of hers was assaulted.
According to South Korean news outlet Korea JoongAng Daily, the 35-year-old Korean-American rapper acknowledged in an Oct 23rd post that her “actions, attitudes and inaction from the time of the incident until now have led to significant pain and betrayal for the victim and others.”
The assault, which took place on Sept 29, was reported by South Korean broadcaster JTBC on Oct 11. In closed circuit television footage that was made public, an 18-year-old fan had asked Jessi, who was with a group of her acquaintances, for a photo. She declined the request.
As the fan was leaving, a man appears and begins beating up the fan. It is speculated that the man was part of Jessi’s group.
While Jessi seemingly did attempt to intervene and stop the attack initially, she soon left the scene. The footage has sparked much controversy and anger, with netizens outraged that the Zoom (2022) singer did not do more to protect her fan.
Though the singer was not directly involved in the attack, she was criticised for reportedly hanging out at a nearby bar following the assault.
Immediately after the incident, she told the police she did not know the assailant and had only seen him for the first time that day. But she later added that he was an acquaintance of someone she knew.
In her apology, Jessi said: “I regret it thousands and tens of thousands of times. I wish I could go back to that moment. If I had taken a picture, protected the victim more actively, gone straight to the police, or apologised properly, the victim wouldn’t have suffered this much. This is all my fault.”
She had apologised earlier on Oct 12, after news of the incident first broke, saying on Instagram that she had been “too flustered by the sudden situation”.
The star has been badly hit by the incident.
Her agency, DOD Entertainment, terminated its contract with her on Oct 18, just a month after it was announced that she had signed with them.
Jessi has also been on the receiving end of malicious comments on social media. – The Straits Times/Asia News Network
