T.O.P Issues Apology To His 20-Year Fan Site Operators 3 Weeks After Going Public With The Relationship, Why?
Former BIGBANG member T.O.P (Choi Seung Hyun), who faced harsh claims from his longest-running fan site right after publicly confirming he is dating actress Nana, has issued an apology three weeks later.
On November 1, T.O.P posted a long apology letter on his social media, writing, “I want to share my sincere feelings with the ‘Choi Seung Hyun.com’ staff, who have been with me for the past 20 long years.”
He wrote, “Even in moments when I myself found it hard to believe in me, you believed in me alone, and with warm hearts and precious support, you gave me the strength to make music again.” He added, “I will never forget the time and effort you poured into steadfastly keeping that place, and the precious sincerity of the fans.”
T.O.P also explained why it took so long to speak out, saying, “I thought I had to be careful even with a single word in these circumstances, so it took time to share my feelings.” He continued, “I hope that even the precious years we spent together will not remain as a misunderstanding or become a source of hurt for each other.”
He went on, “I know very well that the attention and love you give me is never something to be taken for granted, so I will live with gratitude deep in my heart for the rest of my life.” He closed by saying, “I sincerely apologize to the ‘Choi Seung Hyun.com’ staff and fans who were misunderstood and hurt because of me.”
His longest-running fan site, “Choi Seung Hyun.com,” announced on October 10 that it was ending operations after 20 years, saying, “We can no longer overlook the avoidance of reality, the evasion of responsibility, and the attitude of taking fans’ dedication for granted.”
The announcement came just 8 days after T.O.P confirmed he was dating Nana on October 2, so some people misunderstood it as fans turning their backs because they were disappointed by the relationship. The fan site clearly drew a line against that. It said the cancellation of an exhibition (which we reported earlier) was due to low participation and unmanageable operating costs, and that the real problem was not the relationship but a “deception of fans,” including a lack of communication and having tasks pushed onto the staff while preparing a solo album and an exhibition. It added a harsh criticism: “Fans’ love and support is not something to be used when needed and ignored when inconvenient.”
Right after the controversy, his agency TOPSPOT Pictures issued a statement saying, “We deeply apologize that our communication did not fully reach you.” However, the fallout from the fandom turning away did not settle easily. Three weeks after the controversy began, T.O.P has now delivered a long apology of his own.
Source: (A)
