Meenoi, an acclaimed South Korean vocalist, has caused worry among fans following an emotional live session that eventually devolved into some online backlash for the singer.
On Feb. 5, in the early hours of the morning, Meenoi unexpectedly burst into tears during a social media live session. Meenoi, 26, shared that she had not consumed alcohol for nearly two days, emphasizing the necessity for her to convey that information before continuing. She described her personal struggles during the live session, stating that she wanted to be proud even when she was vulnerable.
She tearfully said, “I gathered my courage to speak out because I believe I’ll be able to clarify my current situation in the future. I’ve been awake for nearly two days straight, and I haven’t consumed any alcohol at the moment.” She continued, “At this point in my life, I’ve come to realize the actions I need to take to address questions about whether I can consider myself an artist and confidently assert that. By around March, people may understand why I said what I am saying now.” It was not clear what caused her distress, however, at the time.
Meenoi later wrote an extensive message on Instagram, admitting internal conflicts and acknowledging having made mistakes without elaborating. “Everyone is living within the boundaries set by law, which [may] differ from my personal standards in life,” she wrote, per Soompi. “Looking at it that way, there were actions I should have approached with more humility, but I have committed sins where I wasn’t able to do so, or could be perceived as such.” The post has since been removed.
When fans felt Meenoi alluded to committing a crime, it sparked concerns amid some about her well-being. Meenoi initially refused to respond directly to a fan’s question about whether she was using drugs but later denied it and expressed the need to use specific language in her response.
However, the concern later gave way to backlash after netizens spotted cigarettes and an ashtray in her livestream.In an online community, a post was made about the singer’s alleged slip-up, titled “Look at the cigarette butts behind Meenoi,” and included a picture from the stream, according to Allkpop. Meenoi, who is known to have cats, was then accused of smoking inside, leading many to express disappointment.
To further complicate matters, on Feb. 7, a cosmetic brand’s CEO revealed that Meenoi abruptly canceled an advertising shoot scheduled for Jan. 30, two hours before the agreed-upon time, leading to more negativity from netizens over her reported behavior.
In light of this revelation, Meenoi’s music agency, AOMG, issued an official statement. “It is true that our artist meenoi failed to participate in the advertising shoot,” the label said, per Soompi. “This was due to a discrepancy in understanding between our agency and the artist regarding the authority to sign the advertising contract on behalf of the artist. As a result, we were unable to narrow down the differences of opinion and she ended up missing the shoot.”
“During this process, feeling guilty for her absence from the shoot, the artist mentioned during the live broadcast that she had ‘committed a sin,’ and thinking that things would need some time to be sorted out, she said, ‘By around March, people may understand.'”
The agency added, “Currently, our agency and the artist have communicated smoothly with each other regarding this issue. We are also in the process of reaching an amicable agreement with the advertiser, and both our agency and the artist will do our best to promptly rectify any losses suffered by the advertiser by returning the contract’s down payment and providing compensation.
“We kindly ask [everyone] to refrain from making indiscriminate assumptions or remarks about the artist’s statements [in her live stream], and we will strive to ensure that such incidents do not occur again in the future.”
Despite this intense period of controversies, Meenoi was spotted attending a scheduled event on Feb. 6. As a part of an orientation event at a university held at Vivaldi Park in Hongcheon, Gangwon Province, she performed onstage and interacted with students. Meenoi was said to have engaged with the audience while smiling onstage. The news site MyDaily obtained exclusive photos of Meenoi performing on stage on Feb. 7.
According to a witness to Meenoi’s performance on site who spoke to MyDaily, per Allkpop, “Meenoi mentioned ‘You all know, right?’ During the event and talked about the live broadcast incident.” The audience member added, “After reading today’s article (about the failed advertising shoot), I could guess her mood. Although she seemed a bit off in the early part of the performance, she finished the stage well. She seemed like a ‘professional.'”
Concerning the canceled shoot with the cosmetics brand, known as “P,” a representative, Kim, explained in a call with MyDaily, per Allkpop, “The decision to select Meenoi as a model was a strategic plan established in August 2023. The company incurred significant damages due to the upcoming year’s schedule being organized around the anticipated advertising shoot.”
In addition, Kim also stated, “Meenoi is still a young friend, and after understanding why she did what she did, I wanted to grasp the situation. We conveyed that we won’t charge any penalty fees for breaching the contract to her agency. I hope similar incidents won’t happen again if only the relationship is clearly clarified.”