Lee Na-eun Shared that Many People Have Blocked Her since The Bullying Scandal Broke Out
Since Kwak Tube had also shared his experience as a bullying victim, their conversation attracted a lot of attention. As a result, the issue of school bullying and the controversy over the bullying of fellow members resurfaced.
On the 16th, Kwak Tube uploaded a video titled “My Romantic Week in Italy – Italy” on his YouTube channel.
In the video, Kwak Tube is seen happily traveling through Italy with Lee Na-eun. During dinner, Kwak Tube started by saying, “I have something I feel sorry about.”
He continued, “There was a lot of talk going around, and whenever school bullying was mentioned, I became sensitive. People were talking about victims and perpetrators. I was surprised and blocked you immediately after seeing that.” He added, “But then I saw an article saying it wasn’t true. So I unblocked you, but you already knew about it. I’ve never said this to your face, but I feel bad because, as a victim myself, I talked a lot, but I also feel like I ended up causing harm to someone who was misunderstood.”
Lee Naeun responded, “Haven’t we met a few times since then? Whenever I joked about something, I would say, ‘You blocked me.’ Honestly, I thought that as time passed, I wouldn’t be hurt anymore.” She continued, “It was upsetting that people misunderstood me and blocked me because of it, and the fact that many people did so made me feel sad.” She also shared, “I actually met that person. He was great. We had such a fun conversation, and I already liked him as a YouTuber. Now, I don’t feel disappointed anymore because there are so many people who don’t know me.”
Kwak Tube expressed his regret, “I also found out about the clarifying articles later. There weren’t many. People only focused on the controversy. You’re seven years younger than me, aren’t you?”
Lee Na-eun debuted with APRIL in 2015 and gained attention in 2018 through the web drama “A-Teen”. However, in 2020, she was embroiled in allegations of bullying fellow member Lee Hyun-joo and accusations of school violence.
Lee Hyun-joo claimed that she was subjected to group bullying from 2014, when she was preparing for her debut, until she left the team in 2016. She stated, “For three years, I endured continuous physical and verbal abuse, harassment, and insults. It was particularly painful to endure baseless insults and attacks on my beloved grandmother, mother, father, and younger sibling. The company was aware of the situation but did nothing to stop it.”
At the time, Lee Na-eun, Lee Jin-sol, Kim Chae-won, and Yang Ye-na denied the bullying allegations and refuted claims that Lee Hyun-joo was a victim. However, errors in Kim Chae-won’s statement further damaged their credibility, leading to accusations of false explanations.
Prosecutors dismissed defamation charges against Lee Hyun-joo’s brother and a former classmate, who were sued by DSP Media. They ruled that while there were interpersonal issues within the group, it was difficult to determine if these qualified as bullying, making it hard to assess whether the allegations were false.
Lee Na-eun was also caught up in school bullying accusations. However, the person who made the claims was charged with defamation for spreading false information, and Lee Na-eun was cleared of those accusations.
Amid this controversy, APRIL disbanded, and the members naturally halted their activities. After signing an exclusive contract with Namoo Actors in 2022, Lee Na-eun resumed her career by appearing in the SBS drama “Flex X Cop”.
Earlier this year, Lee Na-eun made headlines due to dating rumors with soccer player Lee Kang-in. Her next project is the drama “i Shopping”, an action thriller about the survival and revenge of children abandoned by their adoptive parents, starring alongside Yum Jung-ah, Won Jin-ah, and Dex.
Source: Daum