Cosmetic Pimps

I'm not really clued in on the Korean entertainment scene but in the last year, I've read about some singer called Ivy who's faced a maelstrom of controversy much like Edison Chen.

It looks to me that the only crime she's committed is the poor taste to date the wrong guy. Which, come on, how many of us haven't done, eh? However, while most of us can kick the useless twat's arse to the kerb and move on, this beleaguered starlet's trials appear unending.

Apparently, she hooked with with a violent boyfriend who allegedly coerced her into a sex tape. When they broke up, he threatened to expose the tape to the general public if she did not pay up. Nice. 

The sex tape never materialised but not before the poor woman got dragged through the mud, had her career pretty much careen to a jarring halt and had to go into self-imposed exile. 

There is some justice in the world though as the man was found guilty of blackmail and sentenced to hard time. I hope they like blackmailing sex tapers in Korean prisons.

She recently re-surfaced to explain her long absence, consigning it to being sick and tired of the Internet gossip mill and wanting only to put the past behind her.

However, this is Asia and specifically, Korea, where sexual promiscuity is OK for men but almost a death knell for women. As we saw with the Edison Chen debacle.

So the knocks just keep coming for Ivy. 

Now, she is apparently being sued by Able C&C (which owns Missha and Beautynet), the company which hired her as a brand model before all this kefuffle. 

Why? Because her "inappropriate personal life events" allegedly degraded their public image and value. So they are asking for USD500,000 as compensation.

They pontificated, “In cosmetics advertising, a brand model has a very strong influence on the image, as well as a tremendous effect on sales.” 

They continue to censure her for "damaging their honor” and “damaging the value of the product through acting in a way that stirred public criticism,”, thus violating her contract with them. Ultimately, they think she no longer has any “advertising power.” So they are keen to kick her to the kerb, and rob her of what little dignity and financial resources she has left.

In a nutshell, they're blaming their sad arse turnover on Ivy being blackmailed, threatened and vilified by a violent arsehole, malicious and salacious gossip mongers, ignorant and bigoted netizens, and moronic and uneducated general public? (And before I get brickbats, that's a gross generalisation ... there are some educated general public ... )

It's obviously not enough she got screwed, literally and metaphorically, by a violent twat, they continue to screw and violate her in the name of preserving the sanctity of feminine beauty. All the cosmetics in the world can't hide your ugly, mates.

It irks me how insular and vulture-like these people are. It's like blaming a rape victim for the clothes he or she wore, walking alone at night, or breathing without thinking. Then rip her knickers off to roger her while she's down. Bollocks. 

I have two eyeshadow pigment pots I bought in Seoul a while ago. They're from Missha. They're headed for the rubbish bin right after this. I'm not going to add to their ill-gotten gains if they get it from between the thighs of crying women.

Worse than pimps. Shame on you, Able C&C.