Red Velvet’s Irene and Seulgi Baffled by Random Casting DM: “SM, What Is This?

Red Velvet’s Irene and Seulgi have left fans both amused and curious after revealing a bizarre casting message they received via Instagram DM — one that even had them questioning their agency.

On May 6, both idols shared screenshots to their Instagram Stories showing an identical direct message from someone identifying as a casting manager named “R.” The message, written in English, read:

“Hello, my name is R, and I’m a casting manager. I’d love to invite you to be part of an upcoming show this May. If you’re interested, please complete your profile and send it to us. Feel free to DM me if you have any questions — I’d be happy to help.”

What made the situation more puzzling was the fact that the only difference between the two messages was the name at the top — “IRENE” and “SEULGI.”

In response, Irene shared the post without a caption, tagging Red Velvet’s official account (managed by SM Entertainment) — a quiet but pointed way of saying, “What’s going on?” Seulgi added a face-palm emoji and also tagged the group’s page, highlighting the oddity with a hint of sarcasm.

The post quickly went viral among fans, many of whom speculated whether it was a scam, a fan prank, or an overconfident freelance casting attempt.

So far, Wendy, Joy, and Yeri have not reported receiving similar messages.

Notably, Irene, Seulgi, and Joy recently renewed their contracts with SM, while Wendy and Yeri signed with other agencies but will continue promoting with Red Velvet under SM’s management.