There’s been a viral topic going around lately involving BOYNEXTDOOR’s Leehan. He partook in a dance challenge with EPEX’s new song, ECHO. This is the official dance challenge clip. And this is one of many viral videos criticizing him.
The controversy started because Leehan appeared to put very little effort into the challenge. Many Korean fans have been quite critical on the matter as EPEX debuted two years earlier and are his seniors in the industry. So people view the lack of effort and his facial expressions as disrespectful. Even BOYNEXTDOOR’s own fandom has been fairly vocal about it, arguing that if idols agree to film a challenge together, they should at least try their best and show some energy through their performance and facial expressions.
This also isn’t the first time people have noticed something like this. Last year, Leehan received similar criticism for what many considered a lackluster effort during a challenge for KIIRAS’ KILL MY BO$$. Because of that, some people have started questioning whether he puts less effort into challenges with lesser known groups. They point to several past challenges where he appeared much more engaged and energetic when filming with bigger name groups.
As the controversy grew, people also began re-bringing up his past controversies, including photos of him smoking cigarette in middle school and another school photo where he was holding a sign containing inappropriate language, and using those incidents to link with this current controversy to judge his character.
EPEX’s Baekseung, the one who participated in the challenge alongside Leehan, addressed the situation on Bubble after it started gaining traction. He wrote:
“I’m doing my best so that no one can look down on us.
Zenith(fandom), don’t let this get you down.
I’m really worried Zenith might be feeling discouraged.
I’m okay so don’t worry about me.”
He also tried to diffuse the situation by saying that Leehan most likely didn’t have any bad intentions and encouraged fans to only focus on supporting him(Baekseung) instead.
What do you guys make of the situation? Do you think people are taking this too seriously, or do you agree with the consensus that it’s common courtesy to put in in a noticeable amount of effort when participating in dance challenges with other artists?
submitted by /u/Embarrassed-Mood-728
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