Liar liar?

SOUTH KOREA - She has been playing bit roles in Korean dramas since 2006 and struggled to get noticed in an industry teeming with beautiful babes.

It was Korean actress Clara Lee's sexy pose and tight outfit during a ceremonial first pitch at a televised professional baseball game in South Korea that propelled her to It girl status, making her a household name in her country.

On May 3, the 27-year-old turned up as the celebrity guest pitcher for the Doosan Bears and LG Twins game wearing a tight cropped Bears top that revealed her abs and figure-hugging striped leggings which showed off her perky butt.

Before throwing her first pitch, Lee even struck a sexy pose that accentuated her svelte figure, causing a stir among viewers.

The footage of her pitch went viral and the Korean media have since named it the "sexy pitch", but it has received mixed responses from the online community.

Netizen tsctnt wrote: "I don't like her outfit but she has a good figure", while irees said: "she's very comfortable in her own skin but I think her outfit is kind of inappropriate".

Shortly after her appearance on the baseball field, the 1.68m model-actress received many invitations to show up as a guest on popular Korean variety programmes, including the highly-rated Happy Together and popular sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live (SNL) Korea.

Lee's guest appearance in a skit on the latter a month after her pitch saw her donning the same form-fitting outfit in a train, while actors playing male commuters ogled at her.

In one scene, one of them was so engrossed in looking at Lee that he didn't notice that his pocket was being picked.

Seemingly pleased with her performance, she tweeted the day after on June 9: "I already miss the SNL family. Thank you for thinking of Clara as part of the crew and treating me well. I want to see you every week. Thank you for making this a happy memory for me."

Since then, she has been made a fixed cast member of SNL Korea, which airs here on Channel M (SingTel mio TV Ch 518/StarHub Ch 824) on Saturdays at 11pm.

She also starred in comedian-singer Park Myung Soo's new music video You're My Girl and clinched several endorsement deals with major brands including Sprite and American Apparel.

Skimpy

Her television and print advertisements for these brands see her in skimpy swimsuits and striking suggestive poses, amping up her sex appeal further.

Switzerland-born Lee, who was previously known as Lee Seong Min, broke into the entertainment industry playing a small role in the 2006 TV drama Invisible Man Choi Jang Soo.

She acted in a few more dramas, but none left a deep impression on viewers.

Early last year, at a press conference to promote her drama Take Care Of Us, Captain, she announced that she would be going by the moniker Clara.

She said she felt her real name sounded like a man's, and did not make her stand out.

She also mentioned that her English name has always been Clara.

Now, with overnight fame comes intense public scrutiny and inevitable controversies.

Viewers in South Korea pointed out that Lee has been making contradicting statements about herself on different TV programmes, confusing and misleading her fans, and drawing much flak in the process.

She had also said previously that she preferred to be known for her acting skills rather than her sexy image, but sceptical netizens called her a hypocrite, saying that she was still showing up on TV programmes in revealing clothes.

As the negative comments snowballed, Lee addressed the issues on her Facebook page, which has more than 188,000 likes.

"I understand if you say you were not entertained, but if you say I was not being truthful..." she wrote.

"You can hate me, you can even make malicious comments. However, please do not think I am wrong just because I'm different."

Later, Lee's agency issued statements explaining and clarifying her inconsistencies.

Lee also publicly apologised for her "lies" on an episode of SNL Korea that was aired in South Korea last Saturday.

When fellow cast member Jung Myung Ok told her jokingly on the show "whether you are sexy or not, stop lying", she replied: "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

Another one, Shin Dong Yup, further advised her to "stop lying from now on", after which she promised to do so and repeated: "I am sorry."

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