Singer Choi Yena's new song 'Hate Rodrigo' has been swept up in controversy over accusations of excessively copying the concept of American pop star Olivia Rodrigo.

On June 29th, Choi Yena's agency, WEi Entertainment, made the music video for this song private, explaining, "We discovered that certain scenes in the music video could potentially infringe trademark, portrait, and copyright laws. We are currently revising the video and will soon re-upload the newly edited music video."

Some scenes in the music video, which was introduced as paying homage to pop singer Rodrigo, reportedly featured images containing Rodrigo's face. However, the agency dismissed reports that this action was taken at the request of Rodrigo's party as "completely unfounded."

Some critics have claimed that the music video blatantly copies the makeup and concept showcased by Rodrigo, arguing that it's not homage, but imitation.

WEi Entertainment added, "We have not received any requests related to this matter from Rodrigo's team, and we hope that unfounded reports do not cause misunderstandings between artists and fans."

The title track 'Hate Rodrigo' from Choi Yena's second single 'Hate XX,' released on the 27th, is a song expressing jealousy and admiration for the object of desire. Regarding the meaning of the title 'Hate Rodrigo', Choi Yena explained, "Rodrigo is a beautiful and perfect object of admiration," and "The title intensifies the affection and longing for this person using irony." However, some listeners have criticized the inclusion of the word 'hate,' which carries a negative connotation, alongside the real name of another artist in the title as inappropriate.

Olivia Rodrigo, who became the center of controversy due to Choi Yena's new song, had ascended to the top of the Billboard main singles chart for eight consecutive weeks with her debut song 'drivers license' in 2021.

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