Somi Finally Reveals The Truth Behind THAT Infamous "Produce 101" Fight Clip

For almost five years, the truth behind one clip from Produce 101‘s first season has been plaguing fans of I.O.I. Now, Somi has finally revealed what really happened during that unaired fight.

It’s been over five years since Mnet‘s survival show Produce 101 first hit screens in South Korea, but there’s one moment from the show that still captures interest to this day: the unaired fight scene.

In the clip, Somi (who ranked first in the show’s finale with 858,000 votes) can be seen and heard yelling at someone behind the camera. At the same time, LOEN Entertainment‘s Park Soyeon, who ranked no.18 overall, is seen holding Somi back, as if to stop her from fighting her opponent.

| Mnet

The clip was shown at the end of episode five as a teaser for what to expect the following week. However, when episode six aired, fans of the show were shocked to see that Somi’s fight was nowhere in sight. Since then, viewers have wondered what really happened.

Some speculated that the clip was part of an acting class or prank, but neither happened during the show’s course. Others were certain Somi was “beefing” with another contestant, perhaps even one of her eventual I.O.I co-members. Ultimately, however, many fans had grown to accept that we may never know the truth—until now.

During a live broadcast on Instagram this week, Somi finally revealed the truth behind was really happened during the clip—and the reality is completely different to both fan theories. With a laugh, the star soloist explained that technically, there was “no issue at all” going on behind the scenes of the show.

Okay, I think you guys are all wanting me to have a big issue but, to be honest, I had no issue at all.

— Somi

Instead, the whole clip was part of an elaborate plot devised by Somi herself. The “What You Waiting For” singer explained that she told the director, “Mr. Director, I’m going act like I’m going to be mad, so please put it in the preview or something because it’s going to grab attention“. That’s right—the whole fight was staged for views!

| @somsomi0309/Instagram

According to Somi, the director encouraged her to go ahead with her plan. Naturally, multi-talented Somi acted out her anger so well, she had viewers convinced there was a real fight going on for years. She went on to explain that Park Soyeon, a close friend of hers on the show, was only pulling her away “to make it [look] intense“.

It was a whole act, like I acted out, I had no fights at all, it was just me doing it all by myself… Nothing really happened.

— Somi

After revealing the truth, Somi joked that she’s sorry if she left any fans down by revealing there was no real unaired beef on Produce 101. She described the scene as “just me with my own show going on“. Of course, whether fans are disappointed or relieved, there’s no denying that waiting five years to reveal it was all just a prank is classic, iconic Somi behavior.