'Produce 101' trainee Niwa Shiori commented on the recent vote manipulation controversy.

As viewers may remember, Niwa Shiori was a Japanese trainee who competed on the first season of 'Produce 101'. On November 7, she posted her thoughts about the controversy on Twitter. She wrote:

"Competition programs are predetermined from the start, and I don't think 'Produce 101' was different. When we first heard 'Pick Me', some of the trainees were already well-aware of the song and the choreography. I was originally not going to say anything about the possible manipulation, but I had a really hard time after 'Produce 101' aired. I would like everyone to know the majority of the trainees are like me and are not at fault."

She then deleted the tweet and followed up with an apology, saying, "I apologize for the wording of my previous post that led to misunderstandings. I was only talking about the producers and staff and wanted to say the trainees had no part in this."

As previously reported, head CJ ENM producer Ahn Joon Young admitted to manipulating votes for 'Produce x 101' and 'Produce 48'.