Some fans are not happy with K-pop star Kim Jae-joong after he pretended he had caught the coronavirus as an April Fool’s Day prank.
The musician, who is a member of the boy band JYJ, claimed on Wednesday, April 1, that he had been hospitalized after catching the deadly disease.
“I have been infected with COVID-19. It is a result of my negligence, disregarding the cautionary words of the government and my friends,” he captioned a now-deleted post on Instagram.
He later changed the caption of his photo to let fans know that it was all a prank and that he actually hadn’t contracted the illness after all.
“I don’t think of this as an April Fool’s prank… I wanted to tell you that protecting yourself is protecting the precious people around you,” he explained.
After coming under fire for his trick, Kim took to Instagram again to apologize, admitting that his judgment “was not right.”
“First, I sincerely apologize to those who were damaged and to those whose administrative work was hindered due to a post I wrote on social media and due to Covid-19,” he wrote. “I wanted to convey the dangers of this moment to people who don’t listen while there are big and small warnings on various information media and the internet.”
For those who missed it, the World Health Organization has reported that more than 1,000,000 people have contracted the illness so far in over 177 countries resulting in more than 53,000 deaths. Medical professionals have called for “social distancing” to prevent further spreading of the deadly disease, which is defined as “trying to keep yourself away from other people, especially large crowds.” Because of this many events, concerts and festivals have been canceled, including all Broadway plays and sports games. People have been asked to avoid public spaces and isolate themselves during this time.
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