Lee Sang Min Apologizes After Controversy Resurfaces Over Allegations Of Pressuring Participant To Come Out As Gay On TV Show

Lee Sang Min and CJ ENM have responded to a controversy.

In 2014, the Olive show “Share House” became embroiled in a controversy for a scene in which Lee Sang Min asked a male participant on the show named Mr. Kim, “Do you like men or women?” Mr. Kim then replied, “I don’t like women. I like men,” and therefore came out on the show.

This became a controversy because some people stated that Lee Sang Min had coerced Mr. Kim to come out, and the controversy recently resurfaced online. On February 17, Lee Sang Min posted a reply on Instagram to a comment from a netizen that demanded that he give an explanation for the scene, with the commenter describing it as a forced outing.

Lee Sang Min’s response is as follows:

At the time, the staff explained that “Share House” was the first kind of variety program that showed people who didn’t know each other living and dealing with things together, and that the point was for the participants to reveal their pain, concerns, and uncomfortable stories and find solutions.

They said that Mr. Kim, who also appeared on the show, agreed to reveal personal things on the show… and the staff said they had to film it.

Then the problem was… someone needed to point it out… and ask… but there were no participants doing that…

Everyone was reluctant to do it. This uncomfortable situation between the hesitant participants and the staff continued for a long time… Someone had to do it, and in the end, I said that I would do it.

Filming took place as the staff wished and it was an uncomfortable broadcast for me… Mr. Kim… and viewers who saw the edited footage where the situation was random… and came up so suddenly… and unnaturally.

I actually discussed it the most with Mr. Kim… and sufficiently listened to his opinion… But Mr. Kim… said that he had already promised the staff before filming, and he said it was alright… so it was filmed.

After filming, I personally asked the staff why we had to film it at the time, but I was given the response that they needed to film something that would cause controversy for viewership ratings.

I deeply apologize and am very sorry.

After Lee Sang Min’s statement, a source from CJ ENM stated, “‘Share House’ is a program that aired on Olive five years ago. The PD who directed it at the time has resigned and we’re currently in the process of checking the facts.”

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