A male K-Pop idol bowed his head and spoke in great detail about his personal life controversies.
On October 27th, an interview was held in a Seoul cafe with GOT7‘s Jay B. Jay B debuted in 2012 as part of the male duo JJ Project under JYP Entertainment alongside Jinyoung, who is currently active as an actor. In 2014, he re-debuted as a member of the boy group GOT7 and has held a solid position as the team’s leader ever since.
However, some fans have expressed both gratitude for his long-standing dedication to GOT7 and disappointment over past controversies.
Earlier, in 2023, Jay B was caught up in a personal life controversy when a conversation showing that he sent direct messages to a non-celebrity woman on social media was made public.
GOT7 Jay B’s Alleged Private Messages Sent To Influencer Exposed — Netizens React
Additionally, in 2021, he sparked controversy by having photos of nude women posted on the walls of his room during a live broadcast on his personal social media.
Regarding this, Jay B said, “I deeply feel the responsibility. I think I was careless in the past. Honestly, except when I’m at events or working, for example, when I walk around the streets of Hapjeong, I don’t think of myself as a celebrity. That’s not necessarily wrong, but rather than thinking like that, I think I should have taken more responsibility for myself.”
He continued, “I’ve reflected a lot. Honestly, I found it hard to think ‘I’m a celebrity’ since I was young. So I acted as if it was nothing, but that was a mistake. I should have recognized, at least to some degree, that I am a celebrity and lived accordingly. Now, I truly feel the weight of responsibility.”
So, what do fans mean to Jay B? “Among the lyrics in the songs on this album, the line that resonates most with me is, ‘I can’t help you, but I can sing for you.’ I feel like I’m like an MP3 player to my fans. Realistically, there’s nothing I can do to help them. But if they tell me I’ve been even a little bit of help, I am very grateful,” he said.
He also said, “So, when those things happened, I felt sorry. Back when I was at JYP Entertainment, none of that happened. I just thought I needed to work hard, but at some point, I got it wrong. Feeling that made me want to repay my fans,” proudly showing his special love for them.
Jay B also showed humility in terms of recognition. When asked, “Do you think the public misunderstands you?” he replied, “Misunderstands? Do the public even know me? I think I have to make them know now. They know GOT7, at least. People probably know Jinyoung because of his dramas. But when you say Jay B, would the general public recognize me? Some might, but I don’t think there’s much misunderstanding. Maybe that’s my responsibility as well. A responsibility for having avoided it,” he laughed.
“For those who have newly come to like me, it’s fascinating. I wonder, ‘What am I like?’ I’m thankful. I’m thankful but I hope they don’t dig too deeply. The old me is dead. Disappeared. I’ve been reborn. To longtime fans, I want to say, ‘Thank you for being my friends.’ To those who have just gotten to know me, I think I can say, ‘Thank you for becoming my friends going forward.’ I tend to think of them as real friends, but that doesn’t mean I act carelessly,” he said.