Controversies surrounding K-pop girl group Fifty Fifty continue to flare up, and this time, the former producing company, The Givers, and the agency, Attrakt, are pointing fingers at each other for the scrapped music video “Barbie Dreams.”

The Givers claimed Monday that it was because of Oscar Jun, the CEO at Attrakt, that the girl group had to cancel shooting for the music video for “Barbie Dreams,” a song for the soundtrack of the upcoming film “Barbie.” The agency, however, says otherwise.

Attrakt had told the Korea JoongAng Daily earlier this month that the music video had to be scrapped as the shooting was first delayed due to member Aran’s surgery in early May, and then delayed again due to the legal battle between Fifty Fifty, its agency and the producers. Attrakt also claimed in other media reports that the music video had to be canceled as the producers simply decided to step down from taking part in the production of the music video without talking to the agency.

However, The Givers released a statement Monday refuting the claims by Attrakt. It claims that Jun is the one who canceled the music video production and that he instructed the other staff members to lie about what really happened.

“Oscar Jun personally approved the music video shooting for ‘Barbie Dreams,’ and he also abruptly canceled in the middle of the project, yet he is spreading false information,” The Givers said on Monday afternoon in a press release.

The Givers is a content management company that manages intellectual property (IP) and produces albums and manages groups. The company was an external vendor contracted by Attrakt to produce works and manage the girl group. The two parties ended their production and management contract on May 31, but The Givers added that they helped the agency and its girl group with the production of the “Barbie Dreams” music video “out of good will.”

The producers claimed that Jun ordered the cancellation of the music video shooting on June 20, right before the scheduled production was set to begin.

“It was only a few hours before Kaliii, the overseas artist who was set to feature in the music video, came, and the production set was already constructed in Korea,” The Givers said, adding that Jun had told Ahn to “lie” to the U.S. team that “one of the members tested positive for Covid-19.”

“Jun told Ahn Sung-il [the head of The Givers] the following day to say both that the cancellation was a result of the doctor’s recommendation to Aran [and her surgery],” The Givers added.

Attrakt, The Givers, and the four members are still in a legal battle. Attrakt said in June that outside parties had approached the group’s members and talked them into breaking their existing contracts to sign new contracts with a different company.

The Givers have denied all allegations since and claimed that Jun was to blame for the fallout.

The four members of Fifty Fifty also filed for an injunction to suspend their contracts with Attrakt early, citing that the company forced them to work through worsening health conditions while also having issues with unclear payments. Should the court side with the members, they will be free to sign with different agencies until a higher court says otherwise.

To find out more about Fifty Fifty, visit Celeb Confirmed! 

BY CHO YONG-JUN [cho.yongjun1@joongang.co.kr]