IU Seeks U.S. Court's Assistance to Unmask Author of Malicious Posts

Singer-actress IU (born Lee Ji-eun) is taking legal action to identify the source of malicious rumors circulating online.

Variety has learned that on May 15, IU filed a request for evidence disclosure against Meta in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. This move aims to gather crucial information for an ongoing defamation lawsuit in South Korea.

Industry insiders report that IU's legal team believes an unidentified individual, known as "A," posted 52 false articles between March and October last year, severely damaging the star's reputation. Facing challenges in identifying "A" for the domestic lawsuit, IU has turned to the U.S. court, asking it to compel Meta to release subscriber data, including names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, and IP information.

The court filing reportedly addresses various allegations, including plagiarism accusations, false claims about IU's connections to China, misrepresentations of her international achievements, controversies surrounding marketing strategies involving deceased individuals, accusations of media manipulation, and baseless claims linking her song lyrics to national tragedies.

This legal action follows IU's February announcement of criminal complaints and civil lawsuits against 96 online trolls. At that time, her agency, EDAM Entertainment, took the unusual step of publicly revealing over 30 online handles of the alleged offenders, signaling a zero-tolerance approach to protecting their artist.

IU, now 30 years old (31 in Korean age), has been a prominent figure in the entertainment industry since her 2008 debut. She has successfully navigated multiple facets of the industry, earning acclaim as both a singer and actress.