Lee Ji Hoon Personally Shares His Side Of The Story Following Accusations About His Drama "Sponsor"

Lee Ji Hoon has opened up about the recent accusations regarding his upcoming drama “Sponsor.”

Earlier this week, YTN Star reported that one of the “Sponsor” staff members had complained in the staff group chatroom about an incident involving an acquaintance of one of the drama’s actors. Both the producers of the drama and Lee Ji Hoon’s agency responded by releasing statements apologizing for the incident and clarifying the details of what had taken place.

That same day, writer Park Gye Hyung claimed that he had been fired due to Lee Ji Hoon complaining about his screen time, which he asserted had led to half of the “Sponsor” production staff being replaced without prior notice. Both the drama’s production team and Lee Ji Hoon’s agency responded by firmly denying the writer’s allegations that the actor had been involved in his dismissal.

On November 5, Lee Ji Hoon posted a statement on Instagram sharing his side of the story and expressing his frustration about false rumors.

The actor’s full statement is as follows:

Hello, this is Lee Ji Hoon.

I’m sorry for only now telling my honest side of the story. First, regardless of the reason, I sincerely and deeply apologize for the fact that friction arose between my friend and the FD [floor director] on set. To be honest, I don’t know what they said to one another in their conversation. But it is my fault that I had my friend come to the set to give me a gift.

If the FD felt uncomfortable because of that situation, I am sorry. I sincerely apologize. I will be extra careful to ensure that my friends do not visit the set again in the future.

However, if it’s all right, I would like people to hear my side of the story as well. I want to be honest. Because there are so many exaggerated and distorted things being said. I’m saying this now because I don’t think I should [sit back and watch] any longer.

Up until now, filming was going well, and I didn’t have any big problems with the other staff members on set. Amidst my lacking skills, I was working hard and doing my utmost to try and act well. To speak honestly, there had previously been instances of the FD behaving rudely towards my manager, a reporter who was on set for interviews, an actor playing a bit role, and me. After seeing and experiencing that, perhaps because I’m human, I didn’t feel good about it. It’s also true that I wondered, “Those people are also just doing their job, and [the FD] could have spoken nicely to them; why is he treating them this rudely?”

Because a filming set is a place that can be uncomfortable for staff members, actors, managers, and everyone, I made an effort to give him the benefit of the doubt and think positively, “That could happen.” If there hadn’t been any prior incidents, I wouldn’t have had those kinds of thoughts about the FD on set.

I’m still on good terms with the other FDs, staff members, directors, and camera directors with whom I’ve worked during the past nine years, and I’m still in touch with them. What do you mean, I was power tripping? Seeing the articles and videos about me, to be honest, when my agency first made a statement about the situation, I only apologized for the things that I did wrong. Because I didn’t think it was right for me to apologize for things that I didn’t do. But seeing [accusations] continue to come out about things that didn’t happen, I thought that I shouldn’t let this go on anymore, so I’m writing this post. To be honest.

The first thing that is distorted is that on that morning, my friend was not holding a birthday party for me, but instead, two of my fans came from the early morning to provide meals for the entire staff, for which I was very grateful. And the celebration took place very briefly in the parking lot after the morning shoot was over. That was all.

Second, there is a ridiculous rumor going around that I took off my pants and caused a scene, but I swear on my name that nothing like that ever happened. The entire staff saw and is aware of this fact. When we filmed outdoors instead of on an indoor set, there was nowhere for us to change our clothing, so I’d change in a car, in the bathroom, on the street, or in an alley, and every time that happened, my staff would always cover me.

Third, there was friction between my friend and the FD, but it is absolutely not true that I went along with it. I tried to stop it. The staff members saw this as well. The look in my eyes was not “Why did you provoke me?” but instead, telling my friend, “Why are you doing this?” and telling the FD, “Hyung, don’t do this either.” That was all. Also, I waited until the shoot was over, then went to Young Hwan [the FD] and told him, “Hyung, I want to apologize for what happened with my friend,” but he said, “Don’t come near me, ‘no touch,’ I said ‘no touch.’ Yeah, I already spoke to my lawyer about everything. You think I don’t know mobsters and loan sharks too?” So I was unable to apologize to him directly. Whether there was pushing or anything like that during the conversation between the FD and my friend can be checked if there is CCTV.

Fourth, this is my first time hearing the story about the writer. As people wrote in articles and comments, who am I to dare ask that a writer be replaced? In my low position? But before we started filming the drama, the director explained the character to me, and I told the director on KakaoTalk that I would trust him and go with [whatever he decided]. That was all. I have my KakaoTalk conversation with the director. If [the writer] continues to make assertions about things that only happened between him and the production company [and did not involve me], I will post my KakaoTalk conversation [with the director].

Fifth, it’s not okay to power trip. Really. There is no explanation of what in the world I actually did that was power tripping, but reports were twisted, then exaggerated, and now it’s being reported that I was power tripping on set. I’m so upset that I’m falling apart inside. I’m not someone who would have the balls to power trip.

Seeing the reports and comments being posted, I felt frustrated and upset, and I wondered why things that I hadn’t done were being spread [as fact].

I hope that there will be no more misunderstandings and groundless speculation. I hope that my fans who support me and everyone who is looking at me, even if it’s in a negative light, will only condemn me for things that I did wrong.

Even as I write this, I am thinking precisely about the things that I did wrong. I am reflecting on [my wrongdoings], and I will take this incident as an opportunity to fix the things [about me] that need to be fixed, no matter what! This statement has gotten quite long.

Writing this, I want to apologize once again for showing you a situation that may have made people feel uncomfortable. As a public figure, I will try to behave more wisely in the future. I sincerely apologize.

I should always be cheerful when working and participating in filming on set, and it is my shortcoming [that I did not do so]. I sincerely apologize to everyone, and everyone who is participating in filming, for giving you cause for concern with this matter.

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