International K-Pop Star Jaejoong apologized for making an April Fools joke about contracting the coronavirus in order to bring about awareness to the pandemic.
It all went down early Wednesday when the 34-year-old singer, whose real name is Kim Jae-joong, shared in a since-deleted tweet that he had tested positive for COVID-19, according to People magazine.
However, before the superstar was able to reveal that it was all a joke and apologize, headlines across the globe began surfacing about the singer’s false diagnosis. (RELATED: Here Are The Members Of Congress Self-Quarantining After Meeting Person With Coronavirus At CPAC)
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“I am also personally aware that it was something that shouldn’t be done,” Jaejoong shared in a lengthy post on Instagram, as translated by Korean pop news website Soompi. “First, over the social media post I wrote, I want to express my sincere apologies to the people who have suffered because of COVID-19 and to the people who were disrupted in their administrative work.”(RELATED: REPORT: Coachella Potentially Rescheduled To October Due To Coronavirus Fears)
“Bad judgment,” he added. “I knew that’s what this was. I wanted to convey that message because I hoped that people would be more aware and therefore we could minimize the number of people who suffer because of COVID-19.”
The pop star continued, “It’s so scary to think that things like people spending time outside in the warm weather as spring arrives, or coming in contact with others in an enclosed space while making use of leisurely time as the start of the semester is postponed, could cause a secondary or tertiary resurgence in COVID-19 cases.”
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The international star said he sees the message to stay home being spread throughout the media and on the internet, “but there are people who do not listen to that, and I wanted to convey the dangerousness of the current situation to them one way or another. ‘Please, listen. Please. Don’t get sick.”
Jaejoong continued his apology by sharing that he knows his April Fools prank went too “far,” but he “thought that if people paid a large amount of interest to it, then they might listen.”
“I sincerely apologize to the government agencies and medical professionals who are working hard because of COVID-19 and to the many people who are following instructions to give up on their lifestyles and are doing all they can to overcome this,” he concluded.
While some blasted the star on Twitter for joking about something so serious as the coronavirus, others came to his defense and encouraged him to stay strong.