What is the full story behind it, and what are the newest updates on Wendy’s condition? Scroll down this article below to find out more!
Wendy’s Incident at SBS Gayo Daejun 2019
On December 25, 2019, SM Entertainment announced that Red Velvet‘s Wendy suffered an injury prior to the 2019 SBS Gayo Daejeon, and the group would no longer be performing at the event. In their statement released to fans via LYSN and to the media, they shared the details of her injury. This meant Red Velvet’s performances of “Zimzalabim”, “Umpah Umpah”, and “PSYCHO” had been canceled. In addition, Wendy was slated to perform the Aladdin OST “Speechless” and the Frozen 2 OST “Into the Unknown” as part of a girl group vocal special OST stage, alongside Oh My Girl‘s Seunghee, GFRIEND‘s Eunha, and MAMAMOO‘s Solar. These stages were also canceled. Wendy was injured during the rehearsals for 2019 SBS Gayo Daejeon today. She was immediately taken to the hospital for treatment, and we will notify fans as soon as we find out the exact diagnosis of her injury. Due to the injury, Red Velvet was not able to complete their pre-recording for the show, and will not be able to attend the live broadcast tonight. We ask for the understanding from the fans who are currently at the venue. — SM Entertainment The staff member continued, “The second-floor tunnel was dark and cramped. The stairs were not ready. Not even the common (fluorescent) marking was visible, so that was how she fell below 2.5 meters in such a defenseless state.” The staff member added, “After Wendy’s accident, several groups went up to the tunnel on the second floor. The news of the incident had spread and the groups were all performing with heightened anxiety.” SM Entertainment revealed that Wendy suffered several serious injuries and would be completely focused on her recovery for the near future. Fans were infuriated when SBS only gave a three-line apology on the website, saying: Right now, Wendy is waiting for additional examinations after receiving preliminary emergency treatment at the hospital. We plan to focus solely on treatment, as the artist’s health is our top priority. We will let fans know about Red Velvet’s future schedules as soon as we organize them. — SM Entertainment Reveluv (Red Velvet’s fandom name) were furious with SBS, both at their lack of apology towards Red Velvet, Wendy, and SM Entertainment, and with their unsafe conditions at their year-end festival. They also were furious that SBS was still airing the performances Red Velvet did pre-record prior to Wendy’s injury, and not respecting SM Entertainment’s opinions. On December 26, 2019, SBS finally released a second apology. This time, their apology was addressed to Wendy, her family, the other members of Red Velvet, and fans, and it reads as follows: On December 26, 2019, the Korean news outlet Dispatch released shocking details regarding Wendy’s accident. During the rehearsals for Gayo Daejeon on December 25, an unfortunate accident took place. SBS wishes to once more sincerely apologize to Red Velvet’s Wendy, who was injured, as well as her family, the members of Red Velvet, and fans. As Wendy’s recovery comes before all else, the director of SBS’s entertainment division and the staff have been working closely with her agency SM Entertainment since the accident occurred, and we are doing our best to provide adequate treatment for her injuries. Right after the accident took place on December 25, the staff blocked off the area and called for emergency services so that Wendy could be rushed to the hospital and undergo a thorough examination. We have begun an internal investigation into understanding the exact details of the accident, and once we fully understand the cause, we will take greater care to ensure that such an accident does not occur again. Wendy is currently undergoing inpatient treatment and examination at a hospital in Seoul. SBS promises to do our best to work with Wendy’s family and the medical staff to ensure that Wendy has a quick and full recovery. Once again, we wish to sincerely apologize to Red Velvet’s Wendy and her family. Dispatch met with the field staff who were present during the incident at the SBS festival on the 25th of December, 2019. The staff member stated, “Wendy conducted the first rehearsal at 11:00 am (KST) on the 25th of December on the main stage during the ‘Aladdin’ OST ‘Speechless’ sound test and sound check. Wendy climbed to the second-floor tunnel, as scripted. She was prepared to go down the stairs during the song. But the stairs were not set in place. At that moment, she lost her balance and fell down the stage.” The Red Velvet members were shocked by the news of Wendy’s injury. Wendy did not get to show a pre-recorded performance or a live performance. Dispatch noted that Wendy would likely be suffering at least six weeks of healing time after the diagnosis of her injuries. Her right pelvis and wrist were broken, and her right cheekbone was cracked. She also had a number of bruises all over her body. It would likely take several months to recover. According to hospital staff, the swelling at the injury site was so severe that an accurate diagnosis could not even be made at this time. They were focusing on Wendy recovering slowly until they could make a proper diagnosis and recovery plan.
Other K-Artists Sent Supportive Messages To Wendy
It turns out that it was not only fans who were supportive of Wendy’s injuries, but also other K-artists, as well! A Wendy fansite shared a screenshot from a MAMAMOO live broadcast chat on their Twitter account, in which Solar shared her wishes for Wendy’s quick recovery after her fall at SBS‘s Gayo Daejeon, which caused her serious injuries. The message from Solar read, “I hope Wendy really, really, really quickly gets better. She’s someone I really like.”
“I hope Wendy-nim really really really quickly gets better ㅠㅠ She’s someone I really like ㅠ”#GetWellSoonWendy #WeWillBeOkayWendy #WaitingForWendy pic.twitter.com/xkO2IrtF23 — WENDY 손승완 Station 💙 Like Water (@SSWstation) December 28, 2019 (Fun fact: Solar was also hurt at the 2019 SBS Gayo Daejun, but sources close to the situation have since disclosed that she is fine.) Beside Solar, Wendy;s labelmate, Super Junior‘s Eunhyuk, updated his Instagram with a new selfie of himself as he mentioned the upcoming new year, as well as Red Velvet Wendy‘s recent accident in his captions.
A post shared by Eunhyuk (@eunhyukee44) on Dec 25, 2019 at 11:48pm PST He added in that artists sweat buckets while preparing diligently for all of their performances. He hoped that in the new year, they would be able to perform those stages in a safe and proper environment, without getting injured. His caption read: “2019 is almost over. Is everyone closing off the year well? I hope in the new year you achieve everything that you couldn’t achieve this year. I’ll also prepare well for the upcoming 2020 to stand in front of you all. And in 2020, I really hope that all artists will be able to sing and dance the stages they prepared so hard for in a proper and safe environment, where they can be healthy and unharmed.” His statement closely ties in with Wendy’s recent injury, where she fractured her right hip, cheek, and wrist after falling from a stage that was improperly prepared and unmarked. Fans thanked Eunhyuk for speaking up as Wendy’s labelmate senior. Wendy and Eunhyuk are both under SM Entertainment, where Eunhyuk has seen Wendy grow as an artist ever since she was a trainee.
