There is a typo in my title I meant to say Fans need to stop acting like idols don’t get bullied.
I see this across all Kpop fandoms. Where supposed fans of the group will bully or harass the members. Fans will send the most heinous messages to idols on platforms like Weverse or will tell idols to kill themselves in their comments. In more extreme cases members are sent graphic rape, physical, and death threats. Then when the dust settles and the member either leaves or a new scandal comes up the same fans will act like nothing happened. If you point out the horrible behavior people will try to downplay it, claim it was just a small minority, or that I-fans don’t “understand”.
I see this type of erasure and misinformation with a lot of groups but the three I keep seeing lately are Garam leaving LSF, with Soojin leaving IDLE, and Seunghan leaving RIIZE. In all three of these situations, the idols received intense backlash and online and in-person bullying for various things. For Garam and Soojin it was murky bullying allegations and with Seunghan it was having a girlfriend pre-debut. Whether or not you agree with any of them leaving their groups there is no denying especially with Seunghan that they were treated terribly online by supposed fans and received a lot of hate that took it too far in many cases.
Lately, I have seen a rising trend of acting like the bullying of idols never happened or that it wasn’t as bad as people claim especially with Seunghan. I have seen multiple posts/comments on various social media sites saying that Seunghan decided he wanted to be solo or that he and the members didn’t get along and that is why he left RIIZE when this is not remotely true. Fans of RIIZE sent him incredibly graphic rape and death threats across multiple social media platforms, they paid to send funeral wreaths and then posted videos of themselves dancing and celebrating in front of them, other members were bullied and told to leave the group for expressing support to Seunghan. All of this happened less than a year and it was disgusting. I am sick of people making up lies and acting like the bullying never happened. If you like RIIZE as six and don’t want to talk/think about Seunghan that is fine but don’t lie and say he wasn’t bullied or that he wasn’t threatened.
This repeated lying, spreading of misinformation, and downplaying of the severity of the bullying that many idols receive from fans is incredibly concerning and dehumanizing to idols. While the Seunghan situation was an extreme one he is far from the only idol who has been sent horrible threats and comments over relatively minor incidents. This behavior is part of why Kpop fans have such a negative reputation and why there is so much pressure on idols to perfect since they are all one misstep or privacy violation from being told to kill themselves. By refusing to be honest about and call out the bullying and pressure idols face from their own “fans” we are protecting bullies and allowing/encouraging the culture where sending death threats is normalized and seen as part of being an idol.
While I definitely think companies are part of the problem and don’t do nearly enough to protect their idols from hate and threats. Fans are even more so part of the problem. You don’t have to support all idols or agree with their actions but sending death threats, especially over K-pop is never okay. Idols are human beings who have feelings and see the comments and threats and funeral wreaths that people send.
submitted by /u/AfraidInspection2894
[link] [comments]
