Irene posted the apology as an Instagram caption alongside an all-black square. It was written in Korean, and translated to English by Newsweek.
“This is Irene,” she began. “I sincerely apologize for hurting the stylist with my foolish attitude and careless words and actions. There was a lot of help from many people who worked hard together until I was here, but I am regretting and reflecting on the fact that I hurt a lot with my immature behavior.”
The apology continued. “Looking back through this time, I was ashamed of my insufficient words and actions, and I felt the importance of the staff once again. We will think and act more carefully to prevent this from happening in the future. I sincerely apologize to all the fans who support me who are lacking and to all those who have caused concern by this incident.”
A post shared by IRENE (@renebaebae) on Oct 22, 2020 at 4:59am PDT
This response from Irene was prompted after an Instagram post by photo editor Kang Kook Hwa. In the passionate, and disappointed explanation, they opened up about horrific encounters with an unnamed celebrity. The post has since been deleted.
“I’ve been thoroughly trampled by this one person, and I became the position of the abused,” wrote Kook Hwa in Korean on Instagram. “Proven to be disqualified from being human + a puppet living behind a smiling mask + known to be a warm person by friends + an ‘adult child’ who lacks character + has a sense of entitlement + has the stupidity that reveals all the deficiencies transparently to the person they meet for the first time.”
The post later revealed the star was having a tantrum. “I should have prepared myself from the stories I’ve heard before I met her. But today, I became speechless as this person stung me with her words that are like electric needles,” the post continued. “I had no choice but to stand still with my hands, feet, and even my brain tied together. I had to stand still in front of that repulsive face that was hysterically throwing a fit at me.”
Irene was never named as the subject of the revelation, though her apology appeared to confess to unfriendly behavior toward those she’s met on set.
SM Entertainment also seemed to confirm Irene was the subject of the post. “This is SM Entertainment. We are conveying our statement about the stylist’s online post regarding Irene,” the statement read. “Irene personally met with the stylist this afternoon and sincerely apologized for deeply hurting her with her careless attitude and emotional words and actions, and she feels sorry for causing concern with her immaturity.”
