‘She had no malicious intent’: ‘Single’s Inferno’ star Song Jia’s agency takes responsibility for fake designer items controversy
It looks like the fake designer items controversy of Song Jia, the breakout star of the Korean reality show Single’s Inferno, has not yet come to an end.
Jia has been swept in a controversy after being accused by netizens of wearing knock-offs of luxury brands such as Chanel, Dior, Alexander McQueen, and Van Cleef & Arpels’, among others. Aside from her beauty, she’s known for donning designer clothing and accessories in the reality show.
On Jan. 18, the fashion and beauty creator apologized for copyright infringement on the luxury brands involved in the controversy. She also removed all content from her social media platforms that include fake designer items, promising to “live more responsibly in the future.”
In a phone interview with Korean media outlet Newsis, Jia’s agency Hyowon CNC clarified that she had no malicious intent to pass off the designer knock-offs as authentic items.
“I also did not know at first that Ji A had been wearing imitations. I think we would have felt less upset about the situation if she had truly had the malicious intent to make it look like they were genuine goods,” said Hyowon CNC CEO Kim Hyowon, as per a translation by Koreaboo.
Hyowon also clarified that Jia “never” passed off the designer items as real to her audience. “People think that there are many fake products she has but there’s just many photos and videos where the same product appears so we are continuing to delete them.”
The Hyowon CNC CEO said the agency is currently “dealing” with Jia’s videos and other content containing fake designer items, as of this writing.
Following Jia’s apology on Instagram, netizens pointed out that some of Jia’s fake luxury items include a Yves Saint Laurent dress, Versace swimsuit, Fendi accessories, and a Dior Lady medium-sized bag, among others.
Hyowon also confirmed that Jia’s Lady Dior medium-sized bag is “indeed fake,” explaining that the reality star “didn’t know it was a copy of a luxury brand.”
“She had no malicious intent. Jia has never tried hard to make imitations look like genuine goods by purchasing A-grade imitations from overseas or anything. Most of the time, she didn’t know it was a copy of a luxury good and just bought items online because they were pretty. There were many instances where she later found out it was a design from a luxury brand,” Hyowon added.
Following the controversy, Jia will be edited out of broadcasting company MBC’s variety show The Manager.
A representative from the show said they will no longer be airing Jia’s footage filmed with actress Kang Yewon, according to a Soompi report. The upcoming episode was scheduled to air on Saturday, Jan. 29.