Nana Pushes Back Against Backlash Over T.O.P Romance

The actress defends her private choices while asking critics to stop hurting the fans who support her.

Nana has pushed back against malicious comments following the public confirmation of her relationship with T.O.P, arguing that her private life does not give strangers the right to dismiss her choices or attack people who support her. The actress and former After School member addressed the criticism in a statement posted on November 5, according to Dong-A Ilbo.

Her message drew a distinction between professional responsibility and personal freedom. According to the report, Nana said she had never failed to fulfill her work obligations and questioned what harm her relationship had caused, while asking those directing abusive messages at her to stop hurting her supporters as well.

Nana Challenges the Reason for the Attacks

According to Dong-A Ilbo, Nana explained that she was writing to people who described themselves as fans while deliberately posting malicious messages after she acknowledged the romance. She said their comments disregarded her choices and freedom, and that she had tried to understand their behavior without being able to accept it.

The statement challenged the assumption that publicly dating someone required her to defend her character. Nana asked whether she had committed a serious wrong, caused damage to others or created a moral controversy, framing those questions as a response to the treatment she had received.

OSEN’s report, published by ChosunBiz, also says Nana regarded the relationship and her decision to acknowledge it as matters of her own private life. Her position was that those choices were not something she should have to apologize for, even as she remained concerned about the effect of the backlash on others.

An Apology Directed Toward Supporters

The apology in Nana’s message was addressed to fans who had been hurt by the situation. According to Dong-A Ilbo, she asked critics not to extend their attacks to people who loved and respected her as a human being, rather than seeing her only through the category of celebrity.

She also expressed regret toward supporters who had quietly endured the hostile comments. Read alongside her defense of the relationship, that passage makes the intended meaning clearer: she was acknowledging the pain surrounding the response, rather than withdrawing her earlier confirmation or apologizing for having a partner.

Our reading is that this distinction is the central point of the statement. Expressing concern for people affected by abusive discussion does not necessarily mean accepting the premise behind that discussion. In Nana’s case, the reported message holds both positions together, defending her autonomy while recognizing that supporters have also been drawn into the conflict.

What Was Confirmed About the Relationship

Yonhap reported on October 2 that the agencies representing Nana and T.O.P had acknowledged their relationship. The report quoted T.O.P’s representatives as saying that the pair first met through a music video shoot and later became romantically involved, with Nana’s agency separately confirming the romance.

That agency acknowledgment established the relationship independently of the later social media debate. Our earlier coverage of Nana and T.O.P’s confirmation follows the announcement and the message she shared with fans at the time.

According to Dong-A Ilbo, her initial response had promised to approach the relationship happily and healthily. The new statement addresses a different question: how some people reacted after her private relationship became public knowledge.

Keeping Her Work and Private Life in View

The latest coverage places Nana’s personal life at the center of attention, but her argument explicitly refers back to her working life. According to Dong-A Ilbo, she maintained that she had taken responsibility for the work entrusted to her, presenting her professional conduct as separate from objections to her relationship.

Readers can also find a different side of her recent public activities in our coverage of Nana’s W Korea fashion editorial. That work does not decide the merits of anyone’s personal opinions about her relationship, but it provides context beyond a news cycle focused almost entirely on whom she is dating.

The statement ultimately asks critics to reconsider what they expect from her and to stop harming supporters through malicious comments. It is a defense of her right to make personal decisions, accompanied by concern for people who have continued to stand by her.

Editor’s Note: The relationship was acknowledged by both agencies in October. Nana’s November statement responds to subsequent comments rather than announcing a new relationship; reports of online criticism should not be treated as evidence that all fans share the same view.