Actor Park Seo Joon Addresses The Recent Controversies Regarding His Fan Service — Netizens Have No Idea Why He’s Even Apologizing
Actor Park Seo Joon has been surrounded by numerous controversies regarding his fan service. Recently, he clarified all the events in a heartfelt post, and fans had no idea why he even had to apologize.
On August 7, Park Seo Joon wrote a lengthy post on his official fan cafe to address the recent controversies that might have upset his fans.
I am leaving this post with concerns that some of you may have been hurt.
— Park Seo Joon
The actor first addressed the incident in which a fan suddenly ran up to him and hugged him without his consent. During a special screening of his movie Concrete Utopia, the winners of a raffle were asked to come on stage to receive their gifts. One fan who was not a winner walked up to the stage and forced herself on him, causing Park Seo Joon to get uncomfortable.
The security eventually intervened.
Fans were furious at the disrespectful fan who crossed the line, calling it sexual harassment.
아 참. 이런분이 없길 바라며 공유하는 영상. CGV서면 무대인사 중에 벌어진 일입니다. 좌석번호 호명해서 선물을 받아가던 시간에 호명받지도 않은 분이 나가길래 뭐지? 했는데 대뜸 #박서준 배우를 끌어안더군요. 그것도 엄연한 성추행입니다. 배우님들께 허락없이 스킨십 하려 하지 마세요. pic.twitter.com/don4Z8umkf
— 박창이의세탁세제 (@mirinae_rainbow) August 6, 2023
What the… I am sharing this in the hopes that no one does this. This occurred during the premiere at CGV. I was shocked when a person who didn’t even win just went up. Then all of a sudden, she hugged Park Seo Joon. This is sexual harassment. Don’t try to touch the actors without their consent.
— @mirinrae_rainbow/Twitter
Regarding this uncomfortable and shocking moment, Park Seo Joon shared that he was startled but tried to end the event on a positive note.
At the stage greeting on Saturday, I was not aware of the fan’s intrusion. I just turned around and realized that somebody was hugging me. I smelled alcohol and thought the person might have made a mistake. I felt startled but I made an effort to end the event on a positive note because there were other people present at the theater.
— Park Seo Joon
He also mentioned that the security guards apologized to Park Seo Joon and that there was no need to worry.
The security guards were in the midst of the event, too, so they were caught off guard. They apologized for not handling the incident properly, and I said it was okay and moved on. I hope you don’t worry.
— Park Seo Joon
He also apologized for the headband incident, in which actress Park Bo Young offered him a headband given by her fan, but Park Seo Joon rejected it. He clarified that his hair was fixed so firmly that he couldn’t move it even if he tried, and it hurt his scalp to put anything in his hair.
In addition, when Park Bo Young handed him the headband, he thought it might offend Park Bo Young’s fan if he took her gift. Therefore, he didn’t receive it, and this misunderstanding caused netizens to believe Park Seo Joon was being rude to Park Bo Young.
Many people said it was probably embarrassing for Bo Young to stand there holding the headband, but I didn’t think of that item as mine. I thought it was Bo Young’s gift from Bo Young’s fan and that if I took it, they might be offended. I think there was a misunderstanding.
— Park Seo Joon
Actor Park Seo Joon Explains His Side Of The “Rude Headband Incident” With Actress Park Bo Young
He then clarified that he and Park Bo Young talked about it after the incident.
Bo Young and I get along well. We played a married couple on-screen and there was no discomfort between us. She felt sorry about the incident yesterday, and I told her not to be sorry and to do the remaining schedules well together.
— Park Seo Joon
Lastly, Park Seo Joon addressed the recent controversy regarding the heart gesture request.
On July 27, Park Seo Joon attended an event for a luxury brand alongside many other actors and celebrities. As is customary at events, the press requested various poses from the stars. When Park Seo Joon was asked to do a heart pose, he only waved his hand and smiled.
Despite the fact that he did heart poses countless times in the past, some netizens and news reports talked about him not doing the heart. Some fans thought he could have just done the pose, while others believed that they understood why he didn’t do a “heart pose” in the midst of his dating news with YouTuber xooos.
Regarding this issue, Park Seo Joon expressed in his post that he tries to be more accepting of requests, but it is still difficult for him.
From the start, my heart was open to fans, so such requests became less embarrassing and I made up my mind to try my best. However, doing these posts in a public appearance was honestly difficult for me. I know I can just suck it up and do it, but it’s not easy to do. But on that day, even the people from the brand advised against requesting heart gestures, and I tried to follow that advice.
— Park Seo Joon
Park Seo Joon then assured fans that he is okay as long as they are there and urged them not to get hurt because of the commotion. He expressed his love for the fans and hoped that those coming to see him would stay hydrated and avoid crowded places to have a pleasant time together. He ended the post with “I love you,” comforting the fans.
In response to Park Seo Joon’s clarification of numerous misunderstandings in such a short time, netizens all supported the actor in different ways. While a few admitted that they misunderstood the situation and that his apology clarified things, most believed that netizens made a fuss over nothing and felt bad that Park Seo Joon apologized when he didn’t have to.
- “Why are they making a big deal out of this?”
- “The haters… sigh”
- “I trusted Park Seo Joon so I didn’t leave any comments, but it was really noisy in the comment sections;; take it down a notch”
- “They went on a rampage just because of one headband… lol it’s as if he committed a crime or something lol”
- “Aigoo… I feel bad for celebrities”
- “Please, if stars come to stage greetings, just make them bow and do movie-related stuff. Why the hell do they make them do heart poses and weird things?”
- “I guess the brand doesn’t allow hearts… Other celebrities said the same thing; the heart pose makes people look a little light”
- “Park Bo Young was just an excuse; they just wanted to release their stress”
- “Is this something to apologize for?”
- “Everyone was bashing him in the comments yesterday. I can’t believe they saw just one action and made him into trash… Sigh *tsk tsk*”
- “That wasn’t the Park Seo Joon I was used to, but after reading his post, I understand him”
- “He must have felt hurt; it makes me sad, too”
- “I also didn’t understand why he was getting bashed”
- “I hope Park Seo Joon doesn’t get too hurt. Celebrities are people, too; I feel so bad for them”
- “It’s a relief he told us truthfully; it was indeed a misunderstanding”
- “He is always great to his fans and just that day, he didn’t wear a headband, so they made up their mind to make up all sorts of things and attacked him; when I saw that, I thought they were crazy”
- “He must have been upset.. I totally understand”
- “It was different from his usual self so I was disappointed, but it was all a misunderstandingㅠ Sorry for being disappointed and misunderstanding you”
- “Cheer up ㅜㅜ Because of these crazy people, the world has become a place where people apologize for doing nothing”
- “I misunderstood, too… I understand now, having read the post. I’m sorry…”
- “It wasn’t even anything to bash him for from the star”
- “He wrote it so well.. I understand him”
Unlike the recent controversies that netizens believe have been blown out of proportion, Park Seo Joon is usually known for being amazing to his fans.
What are your thoughts?