Recently, Leo was heavily criticized within the K-pop community after a video of his past rap began circulating online.
This particular video has now been deleted, but it was initially uploaded on the official YouTube channel for HYBE trainees in October.
It featured Leo performing a rap piece while the other trainees cheered him on.
The lyrics of Leo's rap attracted the attention of many, especially international K-pop fans, since it contained misogynistic and offensive words and meaning in English.
As Leo is fluent in English, coming from Australia, and said he had written the lyrics himself, numerous fans criticized him for writing such lyrics.
nigga..never let him write or near women.. pic.twitter.com/4mVDI01qk2
— mitchie | awake n voting/streaming (@yeonjunscypher) December 28, 2021
Following the issue, Leo posted an apology on the YouTube community.
Leo said, "I would like to sincerely apologize to everyone who has been offended by the lyrics released on the first episode of 'SHOWDOWN'. As it was a competition, I felt as though I needed to use more provocative words and expressions in order to make an impact."
The trainee continued, "This ultimately led me to make an extremely poor decision, in which I feel great embarrassment over. I had absolutely no intention to offend or degrade anyone, but my words and thoughts were very immature and I deeply apologize."
Lastly, he added, "Once again, to everyone who may have felt offended by my inappropriate actions and words, I sincerely apologize. I will take this opportunity to reflect and think of more positive and mature ways to express myself through my music."
Together with Leo, the production team of the video also offered their apology for failing to recognize the issue, and shared they would take extra caution in the future.
(SBS Star)