L’Occitane, a French luxury brand, has apologized for an employee’s actions after they posted unauthorized photos of SEVENTEEN’s Mingyu.
The photos were taken during a commercial shoot and were posted on the employee’s personal social media account. The employee has since been removed from all duties and faced disciplinary action.
Fans trended hashtags demanding protection for Mingyu and have expressed their disappointment and anger on social media.
After the release of inappropriate photos, L’Occitane posted an apology right away, stating, “We sincerely apologize for the recent incident involving the unauthorized release of photos from the L’Occitane Asia Ambassador campaign, which were improperly distributed on the personal social media account of one of our employees. We acknowledge that there is no excuse for this breach and fully accept responsibility for what has happened.”
In an official statement, the brand further stated, “We take this matter with the utmost seriousness, and we deeply regret the distress caused to the artist and all the fans. We extend our deepest apologies to them. The employee involved has been completely removed from all duties, and immediate disciplinary action(Suspension) has been enforced.”
L’Occitane has also promised to implement a training program for employees on respecting copyrights, portrait rights, publicity rights, and privacy.
In other news, SEVENTEEN is set to take the stage at Lollapalooza Berlin 2024 followed by album release and world tour next month.