Lee Hyori Makes Fun of Her Own “Butchered” Press Photos, Koreans Divided On Her Since-Deleted Reaction

On October 6, KST, at the BURBERRY brand’s pop-up event, soloist Lee Hyori debuted a new makeup look that wasn’t the best received by Korean fans.

Lee Hyori | @lee_hyolee/Instagram

Following the release of the press-taken photos, online communities buzzed about the “butchered” makeup job…

Lee Hyori Debuts “Different” Makeup Look For BURBERRY Event, Koreans Not Feeling It At All

…and the soloist, too, reacted to the buzz!

In her latest Instagram Stories update, the star highlighted some of the press photos, acknowledging them as “Halloween-worthy.”

| @lee_hyolee/Instagram | @lee_hyolee/Instagram

Got my Halloween-worthy picture early, LOL

— Lee Hyori

She also referred to the whole situation as a “lost battle,” brushing it off as a funny mishap, like the warrior of a woman she is.

| @lee_hyolee/Instagram

I lost this battle, even though I gave it all. That’s OK. Let me take a breather and come back ready for more.

— Lee Hyori

In one of the Stories, though, she wrote, “We need to talk, reporter.” From the string of Stories, it was obvious that the soloist was poking fun at herself and getting a good laugh out of what the event had turned into.

This story no longer exists on Lee Hyori’s Instagram. | @lee_hyolee/Instagram

Unfortunately, when her reactions went viral, some Koreans simply failed pass the vibe check and criticized the star for “picking on the wrong person.”

| theqoo

• “Why would she need to speak with the reporter when it’s not the reporter’s fault? Talk to the MUA.”
• “What did the reporter do, though? All of her other pictures were butchered, too.”
• “The reporters photographed what was in front of them. Don’t blame the reporters.”
• “No, unnie… You need to speak with your MUA.”
• “It’s not that the press photos are at fault… Her whole look, from hair to makeup, was weird. So…”
• “But it’s the shop’s fault… Go to a different stylist next time.”
• “I still don’t get what the heck happened. What even is that makeup?”

That particular story has since been deleted—whether or not it be due to the unexpected online reactions.

Other Koreans understood Lee Hyori’s reaction, though, calling it “on brand” for her to react with humor. Some even defended the star, pointing out that some people are being toxic for no reason.

| theqoo

• “Aw. The photos must have been upsetting for her, too. But I think it’s hilarious how she shared them herself. Her comments are the funniest, too. Haha.”
• “Some of these comments are mad that she’s OK with laughing this off… I’m baffled. She’s using humor to move on, but you’re all like, ‘No, don’t laugh it off. This makeup sucked a*s and we want you to agree.’ What’s wrong with you all?
• “Nah, unnie. Let’s light the makeup shop on fire first. LOL.”
• “I thought these photos were particularly bad, but I looked up all of her press photos from the event… And they were all bad.”
• “OMG, people. She’s obviously being funny. She’s poking fun at herself and what happened. It’s HUMOR. She has a great sense of it and it’s a part of what makes her a superstar. Personality-wise, she doesn’t like getting upset about stuff like this. She almost always turns to humor and confronts situations like this head-on. She’s such a queen for how she’s handling this without getting any feelings hurt.”

Watch Lee Hyori interact with the reporters at the event—proving more so that she had no hard feelings toward the reporters about the press photos.