Lawyer's profanity toward a prospective bride: "You're an f***ing brat," not scripted.. Lee Ah-young clarifies 'Love War' was not staged [Full Text] [Star Issue]

*This content was translated by AI.

'Dancing with the Stars' alumni couple Lee Ah-young and lawyer Sim Gyu-deok appeared on 'Love War,' raising doubts about their authenticity, prompting Lee Ah-young to clarify that "there was no script."

The couple previously appeared as guests in the fifth episode of JTBC's dating variety show 'Love War,' which aired on the 21st. Lee Ah-young and Sim Gyu-deok are well-known to the public as alumni of MBN's 'Dancing with the Stars' Season 1 and Season 5, respectively.

In that broadcast, the pair, who were preparing for remarriage, shocked viewers by engaging in harsh language during their daily interactions. When Lee Ah-young complained about her girlfriend's workplace frustrations, Sim Gyu-deok responded, "Don't take your stress out on me; I earn more than you anyway, so just quit." Lee Ah-young reacted with disbelief: "What is this fing thing? 'I don't want to hear your whining, so it's better for me to work during that time.' Is this calculation narcissistic?" Sim Gyu-deok further escalated by saying, "You're not even a fing brat. Ugh. Why can't you understand what I'm saying? If you speak, you should understand my words and argue properly. You just grab onto one small point. Since I have high hourly wages, I need to earn more money eventually, so it would be more beneficial if you accepted that. If you quit, there will be a loss of 5 million won, so wouldn't it be better not to quit? Just go find another job. I don't know?" His use of profanity caused MC Seo Jang-hoon and viewers alike to frown in disapproval.

These two individuals, however, revealed on the 20th—one day before the broadcast aired—via their YouTube channel 'Nideuknaetat,' "We acted that way on 'Love War,' but in reality, we get along well," which further fueled doubts about their authenticity. Moreover, they faced negative reactions suggesting they created and promoted this couple channel specifically to appear on 'Love War' for promotional purposes aligned with the broadcast schedule.

The initial video sparked a flood of critical comments: "Wouldn't it be better to fake it just to get on TV? Does it help your main career?" "I knew most broadcasts were for promotion, but doing it so openly is shocking," "I don't understand why they appeared on the show," "They added another example of people meeting within their own circles," "Did you want to gain popularity through broadcasting?" "So you came out on TV just to promote your YouTube channel?" "Is this staged?" "What is this? Is 'Love War' a show?" "The clickbait is insane," "Even if it's a staged promotion, can that lawyer man's one outburst be considered acting?" "This video might get high views, but nothing else will. Subscribers won't increase either. You know why?" "As expected, this was just influencer promotion done in collusion. Zero authenticity."

As the controversy grew, Lee Ah-young posted a lengthy clarification on her Instagram story on the 23rd. She stated, "We've been planning to create memories together whenever time permits for our YouTube channel since long ago; we only opened it this time. We clarified our relationship after being shocked by the VCR footage from our studio shoot."

Lee Ah-young further emphasized that 'Love War' was indeed a show without a script and that both parties had their own concerns given their upcoming marriage, but apologized if this made them appear lacking in authenticity: "If it felt like we lacked sincerity because of this, I am truly sorry."

Regarding Sim Gyu-deok's problematic tone, she added, "He was joking too hard out of comfort. We both deeply regret the lack of respect shown toward me and my insufficient understanding of economic concepts."

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*This content was translated by AI.