Rising to fame worldwide, Lee Jung-jae played Seong Gi-hun in the critically acclaimed Squid Game. His performance was met with praise and adoration by fans and critics alike, leading to him winning an Emmy for outstanding lead actor in a drama series.
The actor has also landed a role in a Star Wars production titled The Acolyte, which is set to release on Disney+. As is common for most celebrities who become famous overnight, your past is dug up and Lee Jung-jae’s history doesn’t seem so clean.
Lee Jung-jae‘s checkered past
Information on the actor’s charges, arrests, and a controversial interview has surfaced on a South Korean online forum called Instiz. In an interview with Vogue Korea in 2013, the actor made some controversial comments, deemed homophobic by fans, against his late friend Mr. Y. He said:
“A while ago, Y left for heaven…[Before he died,] I said to Y, ‘You should stop being gay. Haven’t you been that way enough?’ But it was not easy.”
In the past, Lee Jung-jae was arrested for a DUI with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.222%. The report stated his car had collided with a 23-year-old female office worker at Gangnam-gu, Seoul. But the actor denied the allegations, stating that his manager was the one who drove the BMV.
The actor was also booked for assault in 2020 by Busan Haeundae Police Station. The report stated he had dragged and kicked a 22-year-old woman in front of a nightclub, leaving her with injuries for two weeks.
Fans compare the actor’s leeway to Johhny Depp
After Lee Jung-jae’s history has surfaced, many fans of Amber Heard have compared the situation to that of Johhny Depp. During her testimony, the actor compared her losing the case to women losing the case and this has resonated with her fans.
While many have expressed displeasure at liking Lee Jung-jae in the first place, some have picked out his charges of assaulting women particularly. Amber Heard’s fans believe the actor’s statement has been proven true after Lee Jung-jae’s rise to fame.
Source: Sportskeeda