Actress Lee Se-young has found herself at the center of an unexpected online controversy after viewers claimed the necklace she wears in Disney+‘s “The Remarried Empress” looked identical to a 2,000-won item sold on the Chinese discount platform Temu — and the drama’s production team has now stepped in to set the record straight.
The debate began after Disney+ released new imperial portrait stills on November 9, ahead of episode 5 this week. In the photos, Lee Se-young appears as Rashta, a former runaway slave who becomes the emperor’s concubine, wearing a mint-green tube-top dress paired with a black-stone necklace with a gold teardrop pendant. Comparison posts quickly spread across online communities and social media, pointing out that a nearly identical design was selling on Temu and Pinduoduo for around 2,000 won (about $1.49), with similar “vintage teardrop necklace” listings ranging from 2,000 to 8,000 won.
The production team moved quickly to deny the claim. In a statement to OSEN, the team said the prop “was purchased from a local vintage shop in Europe and has absolutely no connection to Temu products.” SPOTV News also reported that a similarly designed necklace selling for around 8,000 won on a Chinese discount platform was a different product from the one Lee Se-young wore.
The uproar comes as “The Remarried Empress” continues a record-breaking run. Within three days of its release, the series became the most-watched Disney+ local original worldwide, topping the Korean title chart in more than 50 markets including the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Germany, Mexico, Chile, Australia, New Zealand and Canada — with only episodes 1 to 4 available at the time. The series stars Shin Min-a as Empress Navier, Ju Ji-hoon as Emperor Sovieshu and Lee Jong-suk as Prince Heinrey of the Western Kingdom, with Lee Se-young playing the villainous Rashta.
Lee Se-young has drawn praise for the role, with viewers calling Rashta a career-defining turn for the actress. The costume and set design had already drawn mixed reactions from some fans of the original web novel and webtoon before the necklace debate, making the production an easy target for scrutiny over its visual details.
With episode 5 arriving this week, the clarification appears to have closed the debate over the necklace’s origin — though the speed with which the comparison spread shows how closely viewers are watching every detail of the hit series.
