BLACKPINK’s Lisa
After the incredibly busy schedule in the States, Lisa got back to South Korea and to many people’s
surprise, YG Entertainment shortly announced after that on November 24 that she tested positive for
COVID-19 despite having two shots of vaccine injected. The company also said that though
three other members hadn’t come in contact with any other positive cases but for the
sake of everyone’s safety, they would also do a COVID-19 test to assure nothing bad would happen.
Fortunately, all the other three girls’ results came out negative
but also unfortunately, Lisa somehow still got bashed heavily after that.
Of course, it wasn’t like she was the very first case of KPOP then got the whole industry infected,
but somehow, netizens still blamed her for not knowing how to protect herself from the virus,
to perfectly comply to the government warnings, and most especially,
to let her condition interrupt the important schedule of her members.
There was even a post on Pann trying to act like the person was just informing
how Lisa tested positive for COVID-19 but in fact implicitly tried to criticize her.
Along with the screenshot of YG’s statement, the OP said “There were a
lot of people who said they got vaccinated [but still tested positive for COVID-19],
so it’s not okay to not wear masks, to go out and to party, I think this is the case.”
Surprisingly, even with this criticizing tone undercover, the post still got up to 649 upvotes.
On the Internet, other photos of Lisa partying with DJ Snake were dug up and in here, netizens
noticed how she moved from not wearing the mask properly to taking it off shortly after that.
Many akgae fans of Jisoo, and probably of other members as well, also jumped on the hate bandwagon
and threw shade at Lisa. According to them, it was all because of her that Jisoo would have to put
off, or even call off, the promotion for Snow Drop while this drama was super important to her acting
career. Moreover, because there were some rumors that BLACKPINK was working hard for their comeback
but with the current condition of Lisa, everything was again pushed back,
she was also hated a lot though the whole thing was apparently out of her control.
But do you know what’s even more ridiculous?
While Jennie was already reported to be negative with COVID-19, on the same day,
many netizens still dug up the past photos of her going to a Halloween party without wearing a mask.
A netizen even brought this topic to Pann and criticized her for being careless
as well as not acting properly as a celebrity.
Some even dragged Rosé into the mess,
hating on her for taking off masks when going to see a basketball match.
Of course, because the whole story made absolutely no sense, a lot of people were also there to
defend the girls and especially Lisa. As they pointed out, netizens were being ridiculously
harsh on Lisa because when other idols hung out with no masks, no one really seemed to care. Plus,
as YG Entertainment also stated clearly that the members didn’t come in contact with other people,
and everything Lisa did in the States was for her work, there was nothing wrong on her side.
About the party Lisa had with DJ Snake, some also found out that she actually wore the masks most of
the time there and netizens were just spreading misleading news. Plus, as she was actually there
to promote MONEY, which explains why you can see the song playing there in the club, her
fans believe it also made no sense to criticize her for mindlessly partying amidst the pandemic.
Chungha, TWICE’s Sana, Cosmic Girls’ Yeonjung, DIA’s Jung Chaeyeon, and Gugudan’s Mina
Back in December 2020, the news of Chungha tested positive with COVID-19 broke out
and besides opinions wishing her to get better soon,
there was also criticism pointing at her for acting carelessly.
After MNH Entertainment confirmed Chungha's case and said that she
would self-isolate as well as put off all activities for the safety of everyone,
netizens quickly found out about the situation where she possibly got infected to the virus—from
gathering with other idols for a dinner night on December 4th.
As reported by many outlets, this dinner was joined by many other stars like TWICE’s Sana,
Cosmic Girls’s Yeonjung, DIA’s Jung Chaeyeon, and Gugudan’s Mina.
Luckily, all these four members tested negative with COVID-19.
Still, the reactions toward these idols were super harsh and some said couldn’t
understand why they had to gather amid the critical conditions just for a meal.
Moreover, since Chungha was promoting for her single X at the time and the other girls also
had to contact with lots of people as that was the end of the year where many awards shows and
events happened, netizens believed had they wanted to meet up with their friends so bad like that,
they should have quitted being idols and being bad models for fans.
Among the girls, Sana was probably criticized most heavily because before the news about
Chungha tested positive was published, Sana had gone to MAMA and performed with TWICE.
Things then got even worse after The Record Entertainment and Swing Entertainment
announced that IZ*ONE and their staff would test for COVID-19 after attending MAMA.
As the group was promoting for their fourth mini album One-Reeller/Act IV at the time,
the criticism pointing at Sana grew even bigger because some
feared that IZ*ONE would have to pull off their schedule as well.
Chungha was then the second most criticized because after that,
MLD also released a statement saying all members of MOMOLAND would take the COVID-19 test
as precautionary measures because they went to the same salon as her.
However, because getting affected by COVID-19 was out of their control and at the time,
lots of events with the attendance of many people still happened, for example, the
organization of MAMA 2020, many believed that it was ridiculous to point the fingers at the girls,
especially Sana and Chungha, for some gatherings that everyone did. Moreover,
some also accused netizens of being hypocritical because with social distancing restrictions being
loosened, it was certain that many people also had frequent gatherings with friends
and the fact that they suddenly became super exemplary citizens online was hilarious.
SF9’s YoungBin
Well, actually this case isn’t exactly like Young Bin tested positive with COVID-19
but rather his members got affected by the virus
but the criticism pointed at him for his saying controversial things about vaccines.
Recently on October 14, FNC Entertainment announced that Dawon and Hwiyoung
tested positive with the virus after coming into close contact with a staff member
but luckily, all other members of the group were safe.
After the news broke out, attention was quickly drawn to the leader of SF9, Youngbin,
because just two weeks before that, he literally just went on a Vlive broadcast and shared:
“They said getting the vaccine hurts, so I didn’t get vaccinated. Honestly, I don’t think I’ll get
COVID-19 even if I don’t get vaccinated because I’m not exposed to the dangers of COVID-19.”
Also different from the previous cases, it seemed like lots of people believed the criticism heading
at Youngbin was justified because as a KPOP idol with lots of fans under his influences,
saying something so negative about vaccines like that was irresponsible.
The chat was even joined by a netizen claiming herself to be a scientist
and according to this person, people like Youngbin was making it more difficult to
fight back the pandemic because he literally just promoted fear, uncertainty and false information.
However, there were also many fans who were there to defend Youngbin because as they pointed out,
his words were taken out of context and the outlets were maliciously trying to paint
him out as an irresponsible idol. As some fans explain, he wasn’t against vaccination
but rather trying to apply for a shot but failed due to the availability at that time.
Moreover, he did mention later in the Vlive that he would definitely get vaccination soon
and though he expressed worrisome about the side effects, which was actually what
everyone was scared of, the hate he received was just ridiculous.
Still, under the fierce public pressure, Youngbin still issued an apology after that, saying he
was deeply reflecting over the careless remark and promised to be more careful down the road.
So, do you think netizens are being too harsh with their standards or these idols should have been
more careful? Comment down below to share your thoughts with us. Also, don’t forget to like,
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