Lee Gyu-lee is a business writer at The Korea Times, focusing primarily on IT & telecommunications, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and KOTRA. Prior to this, she has covered a wide range of cultural news, from film, television and K-pop to lifestyle and fashion.
Park Na-rae apologizes for inappropriate remarks on web series 'Hey Narae'
Comedian Park Na-rae apologized for making sexual jokes on the web show “Hey Narae.” Courtesy of STUDIO WAFFLE
By Lee Gyu-lee
By Lee Gyu-lee
Comedian Park Na-rae has issued a handwritten apology for her recent sexually explicit remarks and gestures on CJ ENM's web reality show “Hey Narae.”
Park posted the apology on social media, Thursday, saying “I regret making people uncomfortable with my inappropriate videos from Hey Narae.”
She went on, “It was my responsibility to be thorough with the appearance, performance and props on the show, but I let so many people down with my unprofessional action. I will try to put more thoughts into every word and action from now on.”
The comedian faced criticism when the series' second episode was uploaded last Tuesday. The show stars YouTuber Hey Jini, who is popular among children, and Park, who is known for making R-rated jokes.
A screenshot from the show / Screen captured from Twitter
Tuesday's episode showed Park reviewing a male doll. She put the doll's hand in its underwear and stretched it, saying “we'll see how far its arm stretches.”
When the episode went viral online, the series' previous episode also faced increased scrutiny, in which at one point she put her feet on a table leg and rubbed it up and down. She also made remarks about using carrots as a sexual aid while performing sexually suggestive motions.
Many viewers pointed out that her comments and gestures are highly inappropriate as the videos are accessible to children, especially as it stars the YouTuber popular with children.
The series' production STUDIO WAFFLE, launched by CJ ENM, announced Thursday it would cancel the further production of the series.
“We have paid close attention to viewers' comments on the video and other online communities. And we have come to deeply regret and feel responsible for making people uncomfortable,” it said. “To take responsibility, we have decided to cancel Hey Narae.”
Apologizing for releasing the episodes without editing the scenes in question, it said: ”All content related to Hey Narae has been taken down… And we vow to make programs enjoyable to every viewer.”