R.Tee takes down ‘DAMDADI’ music video after plagiarism claims from Yseult
The MV's production company has distanced R.Tee & Soyeon from its creative direction, while the K-pop producer has issued a public apology
RTST label founder and K-pop producer R.Tee has been accused of video plagiarism by French singer and songwriter Yseult for his music video ‘DAMDADI’, which features (G)-Idle’s Soyeon.
Released in August under the newly launched imprint, the music video has come under fire for its similarities to Yseult’s video ‘B**** YOU COULD NEVER’, which premiered in May last year.
On October 11, Yseult took to X to call out R.Tee’s music video as “a straight-up copy” of her music video.
Two days later, Achilles Film—the production company behind R.Tee’s—video released a statement acknowledging that they were “inspired by Yseult’s work and directing style”, distancing both R.Tee and Idle’s Soyeon from the creative direction of the video.
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Following that, on October 17, R.Tee issued a public apology, expressing regret over the situation. He clarified that he had no involvement in the video’s creative process and takes full responsibility, adding that the video was immediately removed.
The next day, Yseult responded, accepting the apology and appreciating that the video was taken down, but emphasised that more needs to be done.
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"Real justice means for me changing the way our industry works so that no artist, anywhere ever has to watch their work be stolen and turned into someone else’s success story," she states.
This is not the first instance of K-pop artists or labels facing accusations of creative appropriation.
According to The Korea Times, in 2009, G-Dragon (who has previously collaborated with R.Tee) also faced allegations from Sony Music for similarities between his song and Flo Rida's ‘Right Round’.
Daniela Solano is a freelance writer for Mixmag Asia, follow her on Instagram here.
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