Warning: Spoilers for Netflix’s The Influencer below.
Netflix has announced that it is withholding the prize money from its South Korean reality competition series The Influencer after the show’s winner leaked the results earlier this year – find out more below.
The Influencer features 77 South Korean influencers across platforms like YouTube, Instagram, AfreecaTV and more, each of them with their own niche content. Through several challenges centered around “presence, impact and buzz”, the contestants competed for the title of ‘Best Influencer’ and the biggest portion of their KRW300million (USD$224000) prize pot.
Now that the show has concluded, however, Netflix has confirmed that it will not be awarding the prize money to the show’s winner due to a breach in contract after the winner leaked the show’s results in May.
In May, after filming for the show had wrapped, information leaked that YouTuber Oking had won the show. The leak stemmed from a public dispute that Oking had Choi, with the former CEO of blockchain platform Winnerz, per Korea JoongAng Daily. The dispute arose due to alleged illegal activities that were conducted while Winnerz was issuing out its own form of cryptocurrency, Winnerz Coin. Choi alleged that Oking was a member of the board for the platform. Oking has denied any involvement in Winnerz.
During the dispute, Choi announced on social media in May that Oking had revealed to him that he had won Netflix’s The Influencer, but noted that Oking stated the information mustn’t leak, or that he would face a penalty for breaking his contract with the streaming platform. In spoiling the show on a public platform, Oking’s win was deemed a breach of contract.
Netflix said in a statement on Wednesday (August 21), per Korea JoongAng Daily: “To maintain the program’s credibility and fairness among the participants, the prize will not be awarded to the winner of The Influencer who violated the confidentiality obligations stated in the appearance contract.”
“Maintaining confidentiality about a show before its release is a crucial measure, ensuring the hard work and efforts of everyone involved in creating and fully delivering the show’s enjoyment to the audience,” the streaming platform continued. “Such a measure is a promise made between the staff and participants who wish for the show’s success.”
Netflix has yet to announce if The Influencer will return for a second season.
Some of the biggest names on the first season of the show included beauty creator Risabae, former Physical: 100 contestant Shim Euddeum and brand director and influencer Mejiwoo, who is also known as the elder sister of BTS’ J-Hope.
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