Why are BLACKPINK's Jennie and IU being named in 'Prostitution' claims? Complete drama explained

BLACKPINK's Jennie and IU are at the centre of a controversy involving claims that they engage in "paid sponsorship meetings," i.e., prostitution.

Hosts Michelle Kira Lee and Wootak Kim of the Above the Influence podcast are copping flak for allegedly disseminating the bogus claims that Jennie and IU engage in intimacy with any Chinese businessman willing to shell out enough money.

In a clip circulating on X, Michelle claimed,

"All the K-pop stars in Korea are wh*res, all the Korean actresses are wh*res. Apparently, every Korean celebrity/actress there's a price tag on their head. And if you're rich enough, like a Chinese businessman, you can go to these entertainment companies and request to spend a night even with the top K-Pop stars. Even IU, 500 thousand dollars a night."

Wootak Kim added,

"My friend, whom I went to some summer camp with, is the son of a BMW heir. And he f***d Jennie from BLACKPINK." Michelle probed, "Like, he paid for her?" to which Wootak confirmed, "Yeah. Paid for her and has a s** video. He showed me this s** video. That's how I know it was real."

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The claims against Jennie and IU explored as hosts of Above the Influence podcast issue apologies:

Korean media outlets have since reported that the two BMW heirs in question are Stefan Quandt and Susanne Klatten. The latter is a father of three, all of whom are close to Wootak in age.

Fans have since begun flocking to social media to inundate it with outrage and slander against the two hosts, with many claiming this is a targeted attack. Some are even urging Jennie and IU to take legal action against them.

In response, however, both hosts have since claimed their words were taken out of context and penned their apologies on social media. Michelle Kira Lee shared,

"I want to take a moment to directly address the viral clip circulating online and the rumors that have followed." She explained, "The circulating video is edited out of context and does not reflect my beliefs, intentions, or values. It was taken from a longer, private conversation that was never meant to be public, and has since been clipped and reframed in a deeply misleading way."

She went on, noting that the original clip had been taken from a podcast conversation from over 3 months ago. She claimed to have been recounting an encounter she had with someone from the K-pop industry, who narrated all these "disturbing claims" to her.

She then recounted all the information during her podcast, "word-for-word," not because she wanted to endorse or spread it, but because she wanted to highlight how "deeply misogynistic and toxic the industry can be behind closed doors."

"I want to be clear: those were not my opinions or beliefs— they were quotes from someone else, which I found disturbing and worth discussing critically."

Wootak also took to Instagram to defend himself:

"All you kpop stans freaking out right now, get your facts straight. I am not hating or attacking Jennie, simply telling a story I HEARD. It was not bashing but simply repeating it because the topic was how dark the kpop industry can be and why idols have high suicide rates and how crazy these 'slave' contracts can be."

The duo also issued an apology on their podcast's official Instagram page, though they continue to cop major flak online.

"Most of you have never watched our full regular content, we discuss dark and conspiracy based theories often and especially if we have a personal experience w the topic. We do this to shed light and discuss things that would typically never make it to main stream media. While our intention was never to harm or defame Jennie. We simply were repeating stories - I never claimed I saw the video, I clearly said “she didn’t show it to me” - I was never calling them names or claiming it was their fault I am saying that such a practice could potentially exist is disgusting and horrible. Like I say in the full clip - Kira was also never calling anyone names. She was QUOTING what someone told her. And we discussed how crazy and gross that would be if it was real," the apology reads.

It also goes on to state that, regardless, the Above the Influence team is remorseful for "spreading information not related to myself on the internet at all." Seemingly written by Michelle, the post claims she has "0 Ill will against Jennie," adding that she has "always wished her the best as someone who loves to see other Koreans winning."

"I understand how even repeating this gossip could hurt her and I am sincerely sorry for that. If you watch full context and want to hate, by all means. For what we did wrong we apologize but what many of you are attacking us for is simply not true," the post concludes.

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At the time of writing, neither Jennie nor IU has commented on the situation.