Controversy is growing after a report emerged, claiming that singer Jessi allegedly left the scene after witnessing a fan being assaulted by her entourage.
According to JTBC's 'Crime Chief' on October 11, an alleged fan reported that Jessi's acquaintance had assaulted him. The informant explained that they encountered Jessi in the early morning on September 29 in an alley in Apgujeong, Seoul. Being a fan, he approached Jessi for an autograph and photo. One of the men who was with Jessi blocked him and cursed at him in English. Jessi stepped in, apologized, and politely declined the photo. However, when the informant turned to leave, another man suddenly attacked him, hitting and kicking him without warning.
The surveillance footage released by 'Crime Chief' shows Jessi's entourage pulling the attacker away after the assault began, attempting to break up the fight. Initially, Jessi can be seen trying to intervene, but later she steps back and leaves the scene. The victim is then seen calling the police as the rest of Jessi's group leaves.
The informant, an 18-year-old minor, expressed deep disappointment, saying, "I don’t know if she left because she didn’t want to be involved, but I was really let down. Even from the footage, you can see she just stood there. I admired her as a celebrity, but after this, I lost a lot of respect."
The police, after hearing the victim’s account, located Jessi and her group at a nearby bar, but the attacker was not with them. According to reports, Jessi and her group claimed they didn’t know the man’s whereabouts. The victim's mother later visited Jessi’s agency and was told that the attacker wasn’t associated with Jessi but was a Chinese acquaintance of a producer close to her. However, both the police and the agency reportedly remained unresponsive for about ten days following the incident. When the informant revisited the police station on October 10, the police stated they had not yet identified the attacker due to difficulties determining his identity.
Later, a producer who claimed to know the attacker sent a message, saying, "Jessi has no connection to the person who assaulted you and wasn’t involved in this incident. You should stop contacting Jessi and making threats." The informant responded, clarifying that they had never contacted or threatened Jessi directly.
Jessi’s agency's legal representative commented, "Jessi had no involvement in the assault. She only met the attacker for the first time that day. If the victim believes Jessi was associated with the attacker, we will consider compensation from a moral standpoint."
The Gangnam Police, who are leading the investigation, have summoned the producer who was with Jessi that night for questioning next week.
Korean netizens gave mixed reactions to the latest controversy as some criticized Jessi for leaving the scene while her fan was being assaulted. Korean netizens commented:
"I'm disappointed in Jessi too."
"How can she just walk away like that?"
"I think even if she just met that guy who assaulted her fan, she should offer an apology."
"Strictly put, Jessi didn't really do anything wrong. But she should offer an apology to her fan."
"What's with her just running away from the scene while her fan was being assaulted?"
"Wow, what?"
"Jessi, this is so disappointing."
"Birds of the same feather flock together. Look at her just walk away."
"She must be crazy."
"She neglected her fan being assaulted. That's really a turn-off. Even another female friend tried to stop it, but Jessi couldn't? lol."
"Wow, what’s up with Jessi?? How can she just stand by and run away while her fan is getting beaten like that...? I know celebrities see their fans as just bank accounts but isn’t this too much...?"
"I was never interested in Jessi but does she deserve to be slandered more than the perpetrator who actually hit her fan?"
"The biggest problem is the guy who hit the fan but she just watched and then walked away."
"She should've tried to stop that guy hitting her fan."
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