Over the past couple of days, “Single’s Inferno” star Free Zia has been receiving tons of backlash from netizens after she was called out for apparently donning fake designer clothes during her time on the sizzling Netflix dating programme.
In case you missed it, the recent drama surrounding the influencer started when several netizens pointed out that the knit Chanel top she was wearing in the show was slightly different from the one Jennie from BLACKPINK sported previously. After receiving massive criticism from the public, Free Zia (real name Song Ji Ah) had since apologised for the controversy.
Despite that, many netizens began digging through Free Zia’s social media account and YouTube channel to gather more evidence on the case. They discovered that Free Zia had worn and even reviewed various fake goods from these luxurious brands on her official social media accounts, particularly on her IG and also YouTube.
As seen in the photo (attached above) of Free Zia holding the Chanel Shearling Ivory Black Scarf, one netizen pointed out, “The logo position is wrong and the thickness of the logo is different. The tag on the inner side isn’t there also. She created content with fake stuff.”
She was also caught for wearing several fake branded items like Off-White, Versace, Fendi, among others. Not just clothing, netizens had also spotted the 25-year-old donning fake accessories including socks and even phone cases.
With the controversy surrounding Free Zia becoming worse as time goes, YouTube reporter Lee Jin Ho decided to chime in with his thoughts on the issue. Last night (Tuesday, 18th January), he shared a video titled, “Free Zia’s fake items…The reason even stylists are surprised,” on his channel.
Reporter Lee opened by explaining that the controversy has become serious after netizens criticise that Free Zia and her agency had intentionally deceived viewers by giving the impression that Free Zia came from a wealthy family. For that reason, he decided to have a talk with some professionals in the entertainment industry to see if it is possible that Free Zia was not aware that the products she showed were fake.
Lee then revealed that he conducted an interview with a stylist in the entertainment industry with 10 years of experience. As revealed by the latter, luxury goods are rarely seen on TV as it is unnecessary to show off those items unless they were sponsored.
However, with the increase in the popularity of reality shows, in which non-celebs make their appearance, there have been more instances when the contestants on these shows wear their own clothing that are from luxury brands.
The industry professional further asserted that wearing fake items are illegal, and it’s considered a serious issue if they were to appear on TV. She also revealed that there are various illegal imitation items in the market, and the “S-class” or “A-class” items, which are impossible to differentiate with the bare eyes, would have to be acquired through special order from the buyer.
Therefore, it would be impossible for the individual wearing the fake item to be unaware that it is fake unless the items were provided by their agency. However, Lee pointed out that the items worn by Free Zia were not the so-called “‘S-class’ or ‘A-class’ fake items, but were items that were poorly re-created.”
As a result, a lot of netizens are infuriated as they believe that Free Zia had deceived her fans as well as viewers of “Single’s Inferno” since the majority of the items she was seen wearing and reviewing were fake.
Watch the video here:
What do you have to say about the controversy involving Free Zia?
