Talent Lee Ji Hoon once again denied the rumors.

Lee Ji Hoon posted on Instagram to express his thoughts on November 8 , “Like any other dramas that have made offers to me, this drama (iHQ’s Sponsor) sent me scripts for four episodes. I’m the male lead, but I appeared in 3 scenes in episode 1, 4 scenes in episode 2, four scenes in episode 3, and 5 scenes in episode 4,” . There were 5 scenes' and "I thought, 'What is this?' After finishing the other meetings, I was honestly curious and puzzled, so director Kwak Ki-won, the production company CEO (Victory Contents CEO Jo Yoon-jeong), and I sat down like this.”

"The director told me, ‘Don’t worry. We are going to fix the scripts. After the second lead dies in episode 5, your story will come out more.’ But it was a lie,” he continued. “I appear in 5 scenes in episode 5 and 6 scenes in episode 6. I started worrying because the drama is a 12-part series. So I called and texted the director. Anyone in my position would do the same.”

Lee stressed, “What kind of an actor wants to act in a series where the male lead only appears in 8 scenes at most when one episode has 50 scenes.” He added, “Was I a power trip to the director and writer? They have deceived me. They can’t use me as a shield to satisfy their self-interest.”

Meanwhile, Victory Contents also released an additional statement to support the actor. The company released the transcription of text messages between the actor and the director including the texts that the writer sent and the confirmation that the director wrote. In addition, they emphasized that the things that happened has nothing to do with the actor’s power trip.

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IVE is on fire, winning big even when the odds are against them!

On January 30, IVE (Ahn Yujin, Gaeul, Rei, Jang Wonyoung, Liz, and Leeseo) made waves by taking home their fifth music show win with their pre-release song “Rebel Heart.” Despite M Countdown being off the air and replaced with a highlight show, IVE still claimed the top spot for the final week of January.

The show revealed the winner at the end, and to everyone’s surprise, IVE secured their second consecutive #1 victory!

This major achievement marks a historic milestone for the group, reaching five music show wins with just their pre-release track.

Fans, known as DIVE, couldn’t be more excited, and IVE couldn’t be more grateful. In a statement from Starship Entertainment, the group expressed, "It feels like a surprise gift right before our official comeback. We've only had happy moments promoting 'Rebel Heart,' and we're so thankful for this 1st place win."

They went on to add, "Starting from February 3, we will bring even more happiness to DIVE. The title track 'Attitude' we will release then is a song that we all really love, and we hope DIVE will look forward to it."

“Rebel Heart,” released on January 13, is the pre-release track for IVE’s third mini-album IVE EMPATHY, which will drop on February 3. The song has already been making waves on both domestic and international music charts. It continues to perform well on Billboard, landing at 51st on Billboard Global Excl. U.S. and 97th on Billboard Global 200 as of February 1.

But it’s not just chart success that’s getting attention! The “Rebel Heart” dance challenge on TikTok has taken the internet by storm, with the members’ dance challenge videos collectively surpassing 24.96 million views with just two posts.

Additionally, viral challenges like the emoji challenge and the band challenge—where popular Korean bands perform the chorus of “Rebel Heart” in their own style—have sparked enthusiastic responses from fans all over the world.

With their official comeback just around the corner, IVE is poised for even greater success. Get ready for IVE EMPATHY and the double title tracks, including “Attitude,” coming on February 3.

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