Lee Jung Jae is facing backlash over casting in tvN’s upcoming rom-com Nice To Not Meet You (formerly Petty Love). The controversy started after photos from the first script reading on August 1, 2025, showed Lee Jung Jae alongside co-star Lim Ji Yeon. Fans slammed the huge age gap and lack of chemistry between the leads.
One viral tweet highlighted the major age difference:
“When Lee Jung Jae turned 20 years old, Lim Ji Yeon was only 2. The fact that the two of them are doing a rom-com together honestly feels like a sick joke…”
— @o3o_rookie/X
Online communities like theqoo exploded with criticism. Many called Lee Jung Jae a “dad figure” next to Lim Ji Yeon.
“They look like father and daughter.”
“Is the age gap between the characters supposed to be huge too?”
“Even with all that retouching done on the photo, he still… They just look too different.”
“Seriously… They smoothed out his entire face, and he still looks like a dad figure.”
Others pointed out that even the rest of the cast’s age differences seemed off, questioning why a rom-com cast such mismatched ages:
“It’s a rom-com, can they at least cast people in the same age range? Even Oh Yeon Seo, his first love, is over 10 years younger than him.”
“Lee Jung Jae is the CEO of the agency, and Lim Ji Yeon is one of his managing actors… If he had any sense, he should’ve said someone else would be more appropriate.”
Fans also noted Lee Jung Jae’s odd fit in group photos with younger cast members:
“No matter how I look at it, he looks like he’s playing her dad.”
“Honestly, it’s disgusting.”
“Why don’t they ever consider how the viewers feel?”
Despite the uproar, tvN continues with Nice To Not Meet You, scheduled to air in the second half of 2025. Will viewers tune in?
Source: Money S and theqoo
