While IVE is currently the most talked-about and most successful rookie girl group achievement-wise,
some believe they are also the most hated act until now for numerous reasons. So what
is the problem with this newly debuted girl group? Why were they loved at the beginning
but so hated now? We’ll try to gather all the reasons in this video for you guys. The
more you watch, the more serious they will get. So with no further ado, let’s dive
into the first reason.
The first and probably the most common cause for IVE being a controversial girl group comes
down to their debut date—which is said to be way too close to the disbandment of IZ*ONE.
Of course, everyone knew that the girls had zero control over this and the whole thing
was in the hands of Starship Entertainment, but still, the idols will always be the first
to get called out when something happens.
So, because IZ*ONE has just disbanded in April 2021 and according to Forbes, since this event
marked a great loss of Kpop, many people find IVE’s debut was simply too rush, just roughly
7 months after IZ*ONE disbanded, thus not leaving enough time to respect the disbandment
of a talented group where Wonyoung and Yujin raised their popularity. More seriously, some
even think IVE is trying to take advantage of the legacy echoed from the massive success
of IZ*ONE.
Then comes the second reason, which is quite cliche and double standard but still frequently
discussed till this point, that IVE shouldn’t have been allowed to pursue the girl-crush
concept since the youngest member is only fourteen years old.
Leeseo - the maknae of IVE - was born in 2007. She was said to have debuted at the youngest
age possible the Kpop industry set out for them. Though it’s true that debuting at
a young age will help lengthen one idol’s seniority, but it is also the cause of many
controversies where topics like child labor, cyber bullying and sexualization of girls
enter the chat. According to some, IVE should have gone for
something bubblier like TWICE or GFRIEND instead of acting sexy and bringing the vibe of “I
don’t care about what others say”. Especially for the sexy part, though it looks like all
the girls have hit puberty and have the figure of a grown-up lady, they are actually juveniles
and still way too young to fit in the “sexy” definition, which lies in the types of outfits,
some certain expressions and gestures often seen in this concept.
Needless to wait for further promotions to tell whether the distaste toward IVE’s concept
was exaggerating or not, the latest wardrobe controversy of Wonyoung and Yujin has already
reflected that netizens’ discontent was totally justified. While Yujin was said to
literally wear a bra on stage, Wonyoung drew lots of negative reactions for putting on
such tiny outfits that when performing certain moves, her chest and bottoms were almost exposed
in front of everyone’s eyes.
The distaste toward the girl-crush concept of IVE was so big that when Starship Entertainment
first released the photo teasers, netizens immediately begged the company to not let
IVE’s image revolve around this theme. Also at this point, some brought up other reasons
accounting for why they wouldn’t want to see IVE become another girl-crush-based group.
Besides the age limit reason, they believe this concept has been oversaturated by lots
of gen4 acts from ITZY, aespa, STAYC to the soon-to-debut JYPn.
Looks like the audiences are getting bored, so they wish for the cute and bubbly concept
to be brought back by new girls.
Then comes the third reason, which is exploding all over the internet lately, it’s about
how Wonyoung is believed to be clearly biased by Starship Entertainment, turning IVE into
a group of “Wonyoung and Friends” or “Wonyoung and her Back-up Dancers”.
Right at the debut showcase of IVE, netizens already spotted the flagrant bias of the company
toward Wonyoung. Because while all the other members were dressed mainly in black highlighted
by the Versace-esque pattern, Wonyoung was suddenly given a vibrant hot pink dress that
helped her stand out right off the bat.
Of course, there were opinions defending the group, saying that since this was their very
first public appearance, it would be too soon to conclude anything.
However, as IVE attended more events, the privilege toward Wonyoung became too obvious
that no one can ignore anymore. Netizens believe that Starship is specifically pushing the
former IZ*ONE’s center and using the other members as fill characters. Though IVE’s
fans have already tried to turn a blind eye on the hot pink dress and patiently waited
for an explanation, what they got is - you guess - another questionable set of outfits!
In which the company made the rest of the group dress in white except for Wonyoung,
who clearly captured all attention as the only member to wear black.
Though some said this difference in outfits was probably because Wonyoung had to do the
MC right after that, and the black dress was the dress-code of the MC line that night,
others found this reasoning too forced because even compared to other MCs, her outfits still
unnecessarily stood out and by no means the organization board would insist on her dressing
like that.
Another reason making such MC-related defense invalid came down to the fact that not only
the red carpet outfits of Wonyoung but even her stage outfits on several award shows were
also made to be way more sophisticated and different compared to other members.
Like this time, while the rest of the group were dressed in shorts and their tops were
in the slim-fit form, Starship once again made Wonyoung the protagonist when having
her wearing a crinoline asymmetric skirt mixed with a crop-top perfectly showing off her
slender figure.
Then another time, Wonyoung was also obviously pushed to stand out, because while all the
other members and the back-up dancers were dressed in black, only she got to be dressed
in white. Well, looks like the similar fuzz about Blackpink Jennie being biased by the
coordi in the past was nothing compared to this. This is like a slap to the face of group-stans
and other members’ fans.
Besides the outfits, netizens also find it annoying to see that even the makeup of Wonyoung
was done more carefully than the rest. On the weekly music stages, it’s also not hard
to see that she was always specifically picked out to have a change in hairstyle on every
stage, which leads to another reason people hate this group that you will soon know when
I talk about it later on.
Besides the alleged privilege Wonyoung has received appearance-wise, people also find
IVE a thorn in the eye as the individual schedule of Wonyoung blatantly overwhelmed others’.
Netizens think while she’d already had several years to build her reputation under IZ*ONE,
this privilege should be saved for other members. So, from being the MC of Music Bank, AAA 2021
to the very first appearance on Radio Star, it has always been Wonyoung and Wonyoung all
along. Actually, Liz and Yujin were also there with her on Radio Star but as some found out,
Starship initially just put Wonyoung name on this schedule.
Of course, this was by no means the girls’ fault, but this is still something the group
had to suffer as a whole.
Sadly, the fourth reason owing to the increasing hate toward IVE also doesn’t come from the
group themselves, but their company again.
While people thought that the All For You stage featuring all famous artists of gen3
and 4 would be one of the best highlights warming everyone’s heart after a long year,
it suddenly took turn for the worse as according to some netizens, it was a disrespect to most
idols there because IVE - the youngest rookie on the stage, was somehow arranged to stand
at the center, right next to Red Velvet and in front of other big acts like ITZY and SEVENTEEN.
Most opinions believe that IVE apparently didn’t deserve this spot, and being the
daughter of Starship, they’re probably just an opportunistic group that only cares about
quick fame rather than other proper ways to earn it.
However, there were also opposite opinions saying that it’s absurd to just blame IVE
for everything, because at the end of the day, they were only teenage girls following
the order of their agency. Moreover, as all rookies need recognition from the public,
it was actually not a big deal that they were arranged at the center to increase exposure,
because other idols have already built a stable fanbase but IVE has not.
Still, the hate toward IVE reached its peak because of the 5th, probably the biggest,
reason of all: there is something off about the girls’ attitude.
Specifically, netizens believe IVE have had some inappropriate attitude toward their seniors
on the December 18 Music Core stage.
Normally on music shows, most groups would spend the first few seconds to greet and bow
to their seniors, sometimes even their peers before doing the encore stage. However, IVE
was seen straight up ignoring seniors Jaemin, Lee Know and even Minju.
The footage of Wonyoung ignoring her former member in IZ*ONE is said to be the most annoying
thing ever. According to some, Wonyoung only greeted Minju when the former IZ*ONE’s visual
tapped her on the shoulder.
Things started to blow up super big when there was a video on Youtube showing detailedly
how the IVE members interrupted the MCs multiple times, making them awkwardly smile the situation
the contentious nature of the group as: “There are a lot of groups that become famous right
after their debut, but rookies that are both as famous and scandalous as IVE are certainly
rare.”
The 6th and also the last reason making IVE lose points in the public eyes came down to
Wonyoung herself, who has constantly been criticized for having putting on a diva attitude
despite being among the youngest idols of KPOP.
A while ago when NCT 127 was on the show to promote their latest comeback, Wonyoung was
seen deliberately ignoring it when the members bowed to her, despite them being her seniors.
The fact that her MC colleague was there bowing nonstop has made a clear contrast to her questionable
action.
Then when TWICE was there for an interview and Jeongyeon had to sit on the side due to
her health condition, some pointed out that Wonyoung didn’t even hesitate to glance
annoyedly at the TWICE member right in front of the camera.
Though it could be that Wonyoung was just looking at Jeongyeon to wait for her answer
and Mina was also seen glancing at Jeongyeon, as some fans defended her, most people found
this reasoning absurd because while Mina’s gaze was warmth and went with a smile, that
of Wonyoung brought a judging vibe.
While it’s hard to say what that look really means, many netizens have already thrown hands
at this girl and the whole IVE group, because for a girl group who has just debuted for
less than a month, this many controversies are just too much to handle.
So what do you think? Are netizens being too nitpicking on IVE or is it true that there
is something wrong about the girls? What should be done now to stop the hate toward this girl
group? Comment down below to share your thoughts with us. Also, remember to like, share and
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