Roughly a month and a half after K-pop singer Choi Yena became embroiled in a controversy regarding her new song's title, her agency has issued an official apology.

On July 5, Choi Yena's label, We Entertainment, released a statement on their official fan cafe: "We deeply apologize for not promptly informing fans regarding artist Choi Yena's second single album 'HATE XX', released on June 27th."

The agency added, "We humbly accept the affectionate criticism from our dear fans and promise to listen to various opinions and strive harder in the future. We also ask for continued love and interest in Choi Yena as she interacts with fans."

Previously, Choi Yena faced backlash for the title of her second single's lead track, "Hate Rodrigo". The song, for which Yena herself participated in the lyrics and composition, expresses a cute jealousy towards the admired Olivia Rodrigo with the sentiment, "I hate anyone doing better than me!" However, using strong negative words such as 'hate' and referencing a contemporary artist by name drew criticism from netizens.

Furthermore, the music video for "Hate Rodrigo" was abruptly set to private due to potential portrait rights issues, and it was later re-released after removing pictures of Olivia Rodrigo. The agency clarified, "We found potential issues in 'Hate Rodrigo's' music video regarding trademark, portrait, and copyright violations. The claim that the video was made private due to requests from Olivia Rodrigo's side is not true."

In the wake of the controversy, Choi Yena did not participate in music broadcasts citing health reasons, and her new album promotions came to an end.

▲Official Announcement from We Entertainment:

Hello, this is We Entertainment.

First and foremost, we would like to extend our gratitude to the fans who have shown love to YENA (Choi Yena).

Regarding YENA (Choi Yena)'s second single album [HATE XX] released on June 27th, we deeply apologize for not informing fans about the artist and album activities in a timely manner.

We humbly accept the affectionate criticism from our fans and will continue to listen to diverse opinions, striving to do better in the future.

Furthermore, we request continued love and attention for YENA (Choi Yena) as she continues to engage with fans in the future.

Thank you.

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