TWICE leader Jihyo (지효) became the talk of the town following her sudden disappearance from Mnet Asian Music Awards (MAMA) 2019 back in December.
During the event, eagle-eyed fans noticed that she was only present at the red carpet as well as during the group’s scheduled performance.
Last Sunday, (5th January), the 22-year-old took to V Live to communicate with her fans. During the session, she came clean about the reason behind her on-and-off MAMA appearance. Read her response below:
“You know how I couldn’t appear on (MAMA) stage during certain moments. I am explaining because there seem to be some attention-seeking folks blabbering about it. I was just sick. LOL. How sorry I am, because it must have been fun for people to have something to point out. But there wasn’t much I could do about being sick.”
However, fans reacted negatively to her statement. In this case, they pointed that her response was overly sarcastic and improper. Despite the backlash, a few die-hard ONCEs (TWICE stans) have come forward to defend the K-pop bombshell.
In response to the massive reaction, Jihyo took to the group’s official fan cafe to clarify the situation. According to the Gyeonggi-born starlet, the “fear of meeting people” has been getting worst following a ridiculous rumour about her being involved with Jung Joonyoung’s scandal came out last March. As a result, she has been suffering from anxiety and depression from the malicious comments.
In addition, she talked about her dating news with Kang Daniel that came to light on August 2019, claiming that “untrue things began to surface after her personal life went public”. Jihyo further added that “all the negative feelings like anxiety, depression, and fear grew immensely. As a result, it became difficult for me to stand in front of people, to say even a word, or even to perform.”
The negative thoughts then snowballed as time went on. “I cried throughout our 3-day concert tour in Japan. I performed at MAMA in that condition and I had to face a lot more people than I did during the concert,” she wrote on the lengthy post. Furthermore, Jihyo assured netizens that she isn’t asking for sympathy by dishing on her current situation.
She concluded by expressing her hopes that ONCEs will stand by her side, knowing that more challenges and turbulence might come as she grows as a public figure. For those who are curious, check out the full statement here (translated via @TWICEGLOBAL):
What are your thoughts on this issue?
Sources: AllKpop, Jazmine Media, Koreaboo.
