KUALA LUMPUR: Popular actress and host Janna Nick has made an apology to those affected by the controversy in which she was alleged to have insulted BlackPink member Lisa Manoban by calling her Lisa BlackPig on Instagram recently.
During a virtual press conference yesterday, the 25-year-old artiste said that she did not mean anything by it and apologised for the whole incident.
"I take full responsibility for this and sincerely apologise to all who were hurt by the caption that was uploaded," she said in a news report.
Also present was her lawyer Ben Syazmin from Tan Norizan & Associates who provided an explanation on the issue that went viral as well as the legal action that the actress would be taking.
Ben said that a police report had already been lodged in addition to filing a complaint with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) in relation to the matter which was still under investigation.
"My client will proceed with legal action against individuals who have made viral once more a video alleging that she had made fun of the death of a K-Pop idol in 2017.
"Prior to this, Janna had already provided an explanation and apologised on the matter, however it went viral again on social media which resulted in my client receiving a whole barrage of insults.
"Because of this unfortunate incident, Janna has been on the receiving end of death threats, criminal intimidation, lies and false accusations that require serious action for her safety," he said.
However, Janna and her lawyer did not elaborate further on the matter since the case in question was still under investigation and has been categorised as criminal intimidation.
On Monday, Janna released a statement announcing that she had made police and MCMC reports and would be pursuing legal action against individuals who had bombarded her with lies, threats and excessive comments.
She had also denied calling or likening Lisa of BlackPink to Lisa BlackPig.
"The accusations that I had called or likened Lisa Manoban to Lisa BlackPig are a complete distortion of the truth.
"As an individual who loves South Korean culture from the aspects of entertainment, traditional culture, fashion, food, technology, beauty and tourism, those accusations are totally baseless," she said.
Aside from that, Janna explained that she had never at any point made fun of the death of South Korean singer Kim Jong-hyun in 2017.