The production team behind Channel A's dating reality show "Heart Signal 5" has issued a statement addressing allegations of an affair involving one of its cast members.
In a statement posted to the show's official social media channels Monday, the producers said they are "currently verifying the facts regarding allegations related to some cast members" and are "carefully reviewing the broadcast direction for the cast member in question, regardless of whether the allegations are true." The statement added that the production team "takes the current situation seriously" and offered "a sincere apology to viewers for causing concern."
The controversy erupted after a post titled "Failure to morally vet a dating reality show cast member" appeared on Blind, an anonymous online community for office workers, on Friday.
The author accused a female cast member, identified only as A, of being "the perpetrator of an affair that destroyed a family and a defendant in a civil damages lawsuit filed by the spouse."
The author said A "has consistently refused to acknowledge the affair and, without even a pretense of an apology, has instead sent letters through a lawyer threatening the victim with criminal complaints for defamation, insult and other charges." The post also said A concealed these facts when she appeared on the program.
The author further said A "actually had a partner from the time she applied for the program through the filming period, yet acted as if she were single — a clear act of mockery and deception toward viewers, cast members and the production team." The post also alleged that "during the group filming period, she would spend time early in the morning at the residence of a married man before returning to the filming accommodation to continue her schedule."
The author also released CCTV screenshots appearing to show a woman believed to be A and a man believed to be her partner in physical contact inside an elevator.
The post has since been deleted, and the allegations have not been verified.
As the allegations spread, the cast member identified as A made all content on her channel private, while the married man implicated in the claims also deactivated his social media account.
paq@heraldcorp.com
