Why did Clio remove Stray Kids as brand ambassador? Cosmetics label deletes band's pics after bullying row
Clio, a professional South Korean cosmetics company based in Seongdong district, Seoul, has deleted all photos of Stray Kids and removed the K-pop boy group as a brand ambassador. Early February it was reported that the group was chosen as the face of a new advertising campaign. The boys were named Clio's 2021 male models after the brand's contract with 2020's Kim Woo Seok ended.
Although, this was before recent allegations accused Stray Kids member Hyunjin of bullying during his school days. Several fans believe the allegations aren't true and are standing by the K-pop idol. Additionally, Hyunjin met with the accusers in person. Last week, the group's label JYP Entertainment announced that Hyunjin will be halting all his activities. It looks like Clio is taking the safer route of not being tethered to any controversy before the "clear truth" comes out.
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Clio Cosmetics has now issued a statement regarding their action to remove the band as a brand ambassador and the process they are taking to handle the situation. "We are making an announcement to everyone who loves 'Clio," the statement begins, according to Allkpop.
"First, we apologize for our brand's late official response to the controversies around a member of Stray Kids. Right after the controversy, our company ended all promotional activities with the model. We heard from the label that it would take time for the clear truth to come out, and we had asked all of our partners both in and out of Korea to stop using promotional material with the model."
The company then explained, "However, overseas distributors had already received the material a long time ago and we continuously asked them to stop using them, but because of local situations, it has not come to be. The contents with the model have been released overseas as previously planned, and we have not yet received how that will change."
They then said that they will update about the band's status further after discussing their plans for future models and how to address the current situation. "In this process, we apologize sincerely to our customers who felt uncomfortable with our late response. We are still discussing what to do about our future models. We are talking in detail with everyone on how to most effectively address this situation and we will let you know what to do after final discussions."
"All the Stray Kids released contents that were uploaded before the issue happened have been deleted, other than from some foreign distributors. We will do our best to continue to listen to our customers. Thank you."
Hyunjin is one of many South Korean stars facing allegations of being a bully at school. Seventeen's Mingyu, Hyuna, (G)I-DLE's Soojin and LOONA's Chuu have also been accused of bullying in the past month.