K-Pop star Kim Jaejoong faced backlash on social media after he reportedly falsely claimed — as part of an April Fools’ Day stunt — to have been hospitalized in Japan after testing positive for the coronavirus.
Multiple K-pop websites reported Wednesday that Jaejoong initially posted on Instagram that he’d been infected “as a result of my negligence, ignoring the cautionary words shared by the government and those around me.”
He later edited the caption to claim it was a prank to raise awareness and keep people alert amid the pandemic that has sickened almost 10,000 people in his home country South Korea, and killed 165, reported Forbes.
The post has since been deleted.
After initially concerning fans and local media by saying he was hospitalized with COVID-19, #Kpop star Kim Jaejoong said it was a prank was to raise awareness.
"I don't think of this as an April Fool’s joke. My family and my friends are getting sick."https://t.co/pJJK57tR31
— Jeff Benjamin (@Jeff__Benjamin) April 1, 2020
“A person’s individual actions can have such a big impact on society as a whole. I am so sorry to those who may have been infected because of me,” wrote the 34-year-old singer-songwriter in his initial post.
“My foolish judgment to live as though it couldn’t happen to me is why I am like this today. I am currently hospitalized. I am reflecting on my past a lot and feeling both grateful and sorry,” he added.
Jaejoong later edited the caption, reported Forbes, after his representatives announced they were attempting to check on his status. Jaejoong is currently in Japan. He appeared to confirm in the updated post he’d not been diagnosed with the virus and instead had wanted to use the post to raise awareness about the importance of social distancing measures.
D'oh.
Deleted a tweet from a second ago about a K-pop star who said he'd tested positive for the coronavirus.
It was an April Fool's joke.
"A lot of people worried about me in the brief period....I'll receive any punishment due to this post."https://t.co/e5i0r0JPlD
— Victoria Kim (@vicjkim) April 1, 2020
An earlier Instagram post from Jaejoong of the group JYJ, formerly TVXQ, saying he'd been infected after being careless and not heeding government instructions, had been picked up and reported by many news sites in South Korea -- including major ones.https://t.co/nT4yIfXx7h
— Victoria Kim (@vicjkim) April 1, 2020
According to Soompi, which bills itself as “the world’s largest and longest-running English online media providing complete coverage of Korean pop culture,” he wrote in the updated post that has since been taken down:
Although this did go quite far for April Fool’s Day, so many people worried about me in a short span of time. Oh… and I don’t think of this as an April Fool’s joke. My family and my friends are getting sick.. and dying.. It’s never!! just someone else’s problem. I wanted to tell you that protecting myself is protecting the precious people around us. I will accept all punishment I receive from this post. I hope all of you are healthy.
#JYJ's #KimJaejoong Clarifies That His Post About Testing Positive For COVID-19 Was For April Fool's Day https://t.co/k3L7m8eDFh pic.twitter.com/xFG3N1AteP
— Soompi (@soompi) April 1, 2020
A HuffPost Guide To Coronavirus
- Stay up to date with our live blog as we cover the COVID-19 pandemic
- Europe is facing lockdown fatigue. Could it happen here?
- I just got out of a COVID-19 ICU. Here’s how I made it through.
- How to make a no-sew coronavirus face mask
- Avoiding going to the store? Here’s how to order groceries online.
- What to do if you live with someone with COVID-19
- There’s a simple game that can stop a tantrum cold
- The HuffPost guide to working from home
- What coronavirus questions are on your mind right now? We want to help you find answers.
-
Everyone deserves accurate information about COVID-19. Support journalism – and keep it free for everyone – by becoming a HuffPost member today.