On October 23 KST, it was revealed that Red Velvet's upcoming fan meeting had been canceled following Irene's attitude controversy.
According to an exclusive report from Herald Pop, Red Velvet had told the organizers of the 2020 Korean Culture Festival that they would ultimately be unable to attend the event. Though a reason was no explicitly said, it is highly likely it is due to the controversy, as the news comes just after a day it was revealed by multiple staff members who work in the entertainment industry that they were victims of Irene's poor attitude.
Red Velvet is the global Hallyu Ambassador for the 2020 Korean Culture Festival. It was previously announced they would be holding a surprise online fan meeting on YouTube Live to celebrate the 2020 Korean Culture Festival. Initially, the organizers said that the online fan meeting would push through as scheduled despite the controversy. Now, however, it appears the members themselves decided not to push through with it. It is unknown if they will be rescheduling it.
On October 21, Wednesday, photoshoot editor Kang Kook Hwa posted a length post to her Instagram account, calling out a female idol for their rude behavior. She revealed an unnamed female idol verbally abused her and that the moment she entered the room, the idol did not greet her, immediately sat down, and started spewing horrible words at her while pointing. She claimed that she had heard stories about other people for a long time but did not know it was so bad. People had speculated it was a Red Velvet member, as she had ended the post with the hashtag #psycho and #monster, songs from Red Velvet.
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Irene ended up issuing an apology through her Instagram account. She apologized for her "foolish and imprudent behavior" and expressed regret over the hurt and damage she has caused the people she worked with. Irene stated she was ashamed of her past words and actions and that she will ensure that this will not happen again. She also apologized to the fans who had supported her.
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Numerous SM Entertainment staff and magazine staff that Red Velvet has worked with went on to exposed Irene for her behavior. Editors from the Korean branches of Vogue, Marie Claire, GQ, Esquire, Allure, BEAUTY+, Singles, and EYESMAG were all seen liking the original post made by Kang Kook Hwa. Photographer Hong Jang Hyung also supported the post.
An industry insider claims that she ran into Irene a total of three times and that she had witnessed Irene's bad behavior. She claims that she witnessed Irene holding onto stylists' heads for balance as they fitted her shoes, flicking her staff's foreheads, and staff members fearing having to wake Irene up for filming.
However, a former visual director and stylist, Ellena Yim, has come out to defend Irene. She had worked with the idol for her Miu Miu photoshoot and said that Irene is blunt, expresses dissatisfaction honestly, and gets her opinion across. She claimed she never experienced a poor attitude from Irene and was thankful for the idols' efforts for those around her. Park Nae Joo of the fame idol salon, Bit & Boot, was seen liking the post.
What do you think of the situation?
