BTOB's Lee Changsub Slams Girlfriend for Refusing to Throw Out Boyfriend's Trash

K-POP group BTOB's Lee Changsub has reflected on his remarks after facing criticism for the language he used on a web variety show. In a message to fans on Sept. 22, he said he felt he had crossed a line without realizing it.

Clips from the 79th episode of "Open for Business" spread online on Sept. 23, drawing attention to his comments. The episode, released on the YouTube channel "12th Floor" on Sept. 17, featured a viewer's story about a boyfriend who asked his girlfriend to throw away trash he had left in his car.

Lee, Kwak Beom and pH-1 said the girlfriend was being inconsiderate by refusing. Kim Won-hoon disagreed, saying she could reasonably feel uncomfortable being repeatedly asked to dispose of her boyfriend's personal trash.

Lee described the girlfriend's behavior as "trash manners" and said she had "no consideration." When the viewer said she paid more on dates because she appreciated her boyfriend driving her, Lee replied, "This is clearly only the girlfriend's side of the story." He added, "This is making me angry. Why am I getting this worked up?"

After viewers criticized the tone of his comments, Lee addressed his remarks in a message to fans. "I think everyone has a certain line they shouldn't cross, but with my recent schedule, I feel like I've been crossing it without even realizing," he wrote. "I have to do better, I have to be funnier, I have to be more memorable. At some point, I noticed myself obsessing over that."

He continued, "Even I had become numb to things that were too over-the-top." He said he wanted to return to where he started: "It isn't easy, but I want to go back to my beginnings. I'm reflecting on how extreme I've been, on my words and actions, on how I express myself. I need to become a person with the right sense of measure again. That isn't who I am."