Nepali singer Sujan Chapagain has apologised after allegations that he exchanged messages with teenage girls triggered a backlash on social media. While acknowledging that some of the chats are genuine, he said other screenshots may have resulted from misuse of his social media accounts.

Over the past several days, screenshots and videos dubbed as Chapagain's private chats have spread across TikTok, Instagram and Reddit. Some of the conversations contain sexually suggestive language and double entendres.

Following the circulation of the screenshots, several teenage girls also posted videos on TikTok alleging that Chapagain had used Instagram’s vanish mode, a feature that automatically deletes messages after they have been viewed, to engage them in sexually explicit conversations.

As criticism mounted, Chapagain issued a statement on Facebook acknowledging that some of the messages were authentic.

“I indeed exchanged messages in the past with people I considered close friends,” he said. “I sincerely apologise from the bottom of my heart for the distress caused by the situation.”

However, he denied responsibility for all of the content circulating online, saying he was unaware of much of the material being shared.

Chapagain said his social media accounts had not always been managed exclusively by him, noting that different social media managers had access to them at various times. He suggested some of the messages may have resulted from the misuse of those accounts.

“Since I couldn't manage all my social media accounts alone, they were handled by different social media managers during different periods. My initial assumption is that there may have been misuse at some point,” his statement said.

Currently in Australia for a concert tour, Chapagain described the allegations as involving ‘unethical and inappropriate conduct’ and said he had already begun the necessary investigation on his own.

He added that he would seek legal recourse after returning to Nepal.