Yena's agency, Yuehua Entertainment, released an official statement on Friday, June 30, 2023, about the deletion of the music video of Hate Rodrigo from their YouTube channel. It had previously been speculated that Yena's music video Hate Rodrigo was taken down or removed from the channel after a request from singer Olivia Rodrigo's team. The song was a part of Yena's album Hate XX.
The music video included pictures, posters, and clips of the American singer. It was suspected that the agency had used this content without Rodrigo's approval.
Yuehua Entertainment clarified in their statement that they had not received any request from Rodrigo's team about the removal of the Hate Rodrigo music video.
However, due to the delayed response from the agency, fans expressed their disappointment and stated that the agency should have been more prompt and careful.
Yuehua Entertainment's statement regarding the abrupt deletion of Yena's Hate Rodrigo music video
Yena's agency has released an official statement regarding their stance on the matter. They stated that after the release of the music video, they found some issues pertaining to copyright infringement and some other aspects. They stated that the agency will edit the video and upload it again.
The statement read:
"Hello, this is Yuehua Entertainment. We would like to express our stance regarding our artist Choi Ye Na’s second single album title track “Hate Rodrigo” music video," the statement read [translated by Soompi].
It further continued:
"The music video was made private on June 29 after the company found that some scenes may have caused issues with trademark infringement, violation of portrait rights, and copyright. Currently, the music video is being edited again. We apologize for the sudden confusion without giving prior notice due to recognizing the problem belatedly. We will upload the music video again as soon as the editing is completed."
The agency clarified reports about Olivia Rodrigo's team's request of taking down the Hate Rodrigo music video. They stated that it isn't true that the music video was made private at Rodrigo's request, adding that they never received any request about it.
The agency finished by stating that they hope there would be no more misunderstandings due to "unverified reports." They also asked their fans to "refrain from spreading unconfirmed speculations."
Yuehua further asked fans for their support and love for the idol's album. They said that they will "repay" the fans with better music in the future.
Hate Rodrigo is the title track of Yena's recently released album, titled Hate XX.
Fans have been worried about Yena's future with her current agency and want them to work efficiently so that it won't impact her future in a negative manner.
Meanwhile, the agency has now reuploaded the edited video with the necessary changes. In the new video, they seem to have removed every scene that contained pictures and posters of Olivia Rodrigo.