“Lee Seung Gi isn’t stupid. This just can’t be.”
This was how many reacted after the reports about Lee Seung Gi’s dispute with his agency hit the wire. Dispatch compared almost all deposits and withdrawals and only found out that Lee Seung Gi, indeed, wasn’t paid a single penny for his music revenue.
So how was that possible? The answer is “gaslighting.”
Lee Seung Gi bags quite a lot of money from dramas, variety shows, and commercials. His appearance fees are quite high as well. And since he was satisfied with the money he was making, he didn’t want to make issues after being repeatedly told, “You’re a minus singer” (meaning he only loses money as a singer).
Lee Seung Gi’s manager further elaborated, “CEO Kwon always brainwashed him. ‘You’re a minus singer. Your fans never spend any money but only have demands. You make a lot of money doing other things (acting and hosting shows). Just think that you’re just singing to please your fans.'” He then added, “Seung Gi just chose not to be paid rather than have the CEO call him names.”
Even the texts the manager got from the CEO were a collaboration of oppression, surveillance, and abuse. She pushed the manager to use Lee Seung Gi’s card instead of a company card for snacks and food and flipped out over spending about $15 for parking.
On November 17th, CEO Kwon called for an emergency meeting with the executives and Lee Seung Gi’s manager. That was the day Lee Seung Gi sent certification of contents about the gap in the payment. Lee Seung Gi’s manager thought of a way he could protect himself and chose to record the meeting.
“I swear on my name. I’m gonna kill him. I’m going to spend the rest of my life killing him. That f*cker.”
This 2-minute video gives a glimpse into how the singer must’ve been gaslighted his entire career.
Source (1)
