A female YouTuber has apologized to EXO’s Chanyeol after she mentioned on a TV show that a K-pop idol gave her the finger on a road and Korean netizens speculated that she was referring to him.
It started when motorcycle enthusiast Jang Shi-nae became a guest on the show “Grandmas Are Coming.”
She narrated that a “foreign car was driving threateningly, and when I avoided it, he gave me the finger.” When she confronted the driver, he covered his face but continued to give her the finger and added that he was “a top idol star whom anyone would know by name,” according to the Korean JoongAng Daily.
Jang Shi-nae uploaded the video of the traffic situation last March 9 on her YouTube channel but it was only when she became a guest on the show that it was spotlighted. She did not name the K-pop idol.
Korean netizens who saw the video pointed to Chanyeol based on the type of vehicle, hand shape, tattoo and a pet in the vehicle.
According to Korean media outlet Sports Kyunghyang, while she did not directly mention Chanyeol’s name, she allegedly clicked the “like” button on a comment on the YouTube video in response to netizens’ comments whether the driver was Chanyeol.
In the original video she uploaded on YouTube, which has since been turned private, Jang Shi-nae wrote “he was one of the most famous idol singers in Korea.”
She said this is based on the following clues: “Clue 1. Fan-shaped nails and long, big hands and knuckles match (He's famous among fans for his big hands and long fingers)”; “Clue 2. Benzg Bargain Old Vehicle (Black g-bargain shot on Dispatch)”; “Clue 3. Puppy in Hermes bag (Currently identified as a pet dog)”; and “Clue 4. Looks like a tattoo on your finger (Most likely clue).”
SM Entertainment denied that it was Chanyeol, saying, "The person in the video is not Chanyeol and the vehicle is different from Chanyeol's car.” Chanyeol is currently fulfilling his military service.
On April 28, Jang Shi-nae issued a statement on Instagram and apologized to Chanyeol although she did not mention his name.
“I am sorry that many people must have gone through a confusing situation, and I am posting this explanation to clear up a little bit of misunderstanding,” she said.
She added, “First of all, I have never mentioned his real name in private or public places, and even if I find the culprit, I have no intention of revealing it in the future.”
“On YouTube, I made what I saw and felt in my position as to who the person in the video would be, but the speculative comments I made while watching the video and the content of the driving dangerously I mentioned in the broadcast started as the subject of provocative articles and distorted rumors. I am very sorry that this seems to be known as if it had been revealed,” she said.
According to her, “I, too, suffered damage from the vehicle, but I would like to take this opportunity to apologize to the person who may have been affected by the speculative comments. I do not want any further damage from unfounded speculation, so I will delete the video and other related feeds.”
“Once again, I would like to apologize to those who may have experienced inconvenience due to the misunderstanding, and I will try to communicate more carefully in the future,” she said.