Hi everyone, guess what!
Another Kpop discussion video is ready for you to watch!
Did you get excited to see what was shaking the whole Kpop world last week?
If yes, let’s get down to the following controversies covered in this video with us.
Let’s come first to the hottest discussion recently which is about the beef between the
trio Chen-Baekhyun-Xiumin and SM Entertainment.
Particularly, on June 1, Chen, Baekhyun, and Xiumin delivered their official statement
through their legal representative and lawyer Lee Jae Hak from law firm LIN, announcing
that they had submitted a notice of the exclusive contract termination to SM Entertainment.
The reason for their action is that SM Entertainment has been refusing to provide papers on how
the EXO members have received payment since their debut, even after the trio requested
such documents seven times from March 21 until May.
The three idols believe that there are problematic aspects of their earnings and have decided
to exercise their rights as artists and demand transparency from the company.
According to LIN, the agency has a history of forcing its artists to sign lengthy exclusive
contracts of up to 13 years and recently demanded early renewal to extend contracts to at least
17 to 18 years while the standard contract recommended by the government is only 7 years.
The trio claims that these slave contracts are unfair and violate existing laws surrounding
exclusive contracts in the entertainment industry.
Thus, Baekhyun, Xiumin, and Chen have chosen to pursue legal action against SM to act as
advocates for other artists under similar binding contracts.
However, SM denied all allegations, saying that they will pursue legal action against
the outside forces that are luring the trio into breaching the valid exclusive contracts
they have signed with the company.
Although SM did not point any names out, a media report revealed that BPM (Big Planet
Made) received a letter of notification from SM after capturing evidence of this company’s
attempts to approach Chen, Baekhyun, and Xiumin through MC Mong, whom SM claimed was a director
at BPM and induced the three EXO members to enter into contracts with them.
However, later, BPM countered the report in an interview with Sports Seoul, stating that
MC Mong met the artists out of personal connections without no intention of recruitment.
Later, Baekhyun, Chen, and Xiumin also rebut SM’s statement, stating that SM’s claim
of an external force involved is totally false and the company is trying to manipulate public
opinion.
The lawyer of the trio also added that they are mature enough to make their own decision
and are wise enough not to be seduced by any third party.
Well, that makes sense because Chen, Baekhyun and Xiumin are all grown men and besides being
artists, they are also Korean citizens who know the Korean law so there’s no way they
could be easily manipulated like SM said.
Of course SM will never admit they're being shady and it seems like they don’t want
to lose the trio.
In case you didn’t notice, the aftermath of Baekhyun, Xiumin, and Chen’s exclusive
contract dispute was causing a sharp drop in SM’s stock price.
On June 1st, SM Entertainment’s stock price was 101,500 won.
This represents a 7.38% decrease compared to the previous day’s closing price of 109,700
won.
The company must be freaking out so they are trying their best to turn down all the allegations
and make the trio continue being EXO members.
And as you all know, or just knew, this is not the first time SM Entertainment has been
accused of unfair treatment of its artists.
Back in 2009 and 2014, JYJ and former members of EXO, Luhan and Tao, respectively filed
for contract termination, citing similar reasons to that of Chen-Baek-Xiu.
Since then, their legal battle with SM Entertainment also shed light on the darker side of the
K-pop industry, where artists often face intense pressure, exploitation, and mistreatment in
the pursuit of fame and fortune.
One thing's for sure, when idols decide to stand up against their agencies, that's when
their tolerance for the “slave” contract was beyond their limits.
They defied everything eventhough they can lose the lawsuit, compensate the contract,
or even get blacklisted.
Regarding this issue, most netizens, especially EXO-L, expressed their disappointment with
the way SM Entertainment behaves toward their idols.
They said that SM is only out for money with no consideration at all for what fans really
want.
And it is obvious that SM has always been bad at doing their jobs, that’s why they’re
always under lawsuits like this.
I think that Chen, Baekhyun, and Xiumin’s courage to stand up against their agency and
fight for their rights inspired many fellow artists to speak out against unfair practices
in the industry.
And the fact that the trio terminated contracts with SM meant that the agency is losing three
of the hottest members of EXO, including two best male vocalists of the gen3 and a million-seller
solo artist.
Furthermore, I find it hard to believe SM Entertainment's claim that external forces
were responsible for luring the members.
Well, I mean Chen, Baekhyun and Xiumin have been idols for over a decade, it seems unlikely
that they could be easily swayed as if they were newcomers to the industry.
What’s more, SM is one of the leading entertainment agencies in the K-pop industry, and it is
a dream for many aspiring artists to become idols under their management.
So, it's no coincidence that the trio decided to leave such a big company, indicating that
the reason for their departure must be really terrible.
__________________________________________________ Move on to the next discussion, which is about
Baby Monster's Ahyeon under fire for using a racial slur in a recently uploaded video.
Controversy has arisen over a video posted on social media on May 29, showcasing Ahyeon's
performance at Hanlim Arts High School.
Despite her engaging performance, a cloud of concern has been cast by an allegation
that Ahyeon used a racial slur, specifically the "N-word," during her performance.
This sparked a huge backlash among netizens as the usage of this word by a non-black person
can be seen as offensive and discriminatory towards black people.
In addition, the 2 songs chosen by Ahyeon to perform, Feeling Myself (Nicki Minaj) and
Finesse (Bruno Mars ft.
Cardi B) were also accused by netizens of containing inappropriate lyrics and not being
suitable to be performed in a school setting.
Needless to say, the video rapidly gained traction online, with Ahyeon facing two divided
opinions from fans and internet users.
While her fans explained that this is just an internal stage of the school, where students
freely display their talents without strict control, it's not too bad that Ahyeon didn’t
control her words that much.
Moreover, debuting at a relatively early age probably made her lack the maturity to decide
on suitable songs to perform at school and that can be acceptable.
They suggest a sincere apology would somewhat handle this issue.
However, most netizens insisted that since Ahyeon said she has been learning English
since the age of 5, it is impossible for her not to know about the “n-word” and its
discriminatory history.
Consequently, there were calls for her to be expelled from Baby Monster as the group
wouldn't harbor such an individual who caused controversy even before her official debut.
Some also argued that idols should bear the responsibility for such incidents, as this
has occurred too frequently for them to be solely attributed to their management company.
The worse thing is, YG Entertainment seemed to add fuel to the fire.
As of now, they have remained silent on the issue, with no official statement in response
to the controversy.
Worth mentioning, in the midst of the controversy, BABYMONSTER's Instagram account updates with
a photo of Ahyeon accompanied by the caption: "Shh.
Let the photo speak for itself," instead of issuing a formal apology.
This action from YG is seen as a challenge to public opinion and has intensified the
discontent among fans.
Well, I think that it is high time for K-pop companies to prioritize and invest in educating
their trainees better to prevent this kind of thing from happening.
This is, frustratingly, far from being the first time that a K-Pop idol has been heard
using racial slurs while performing.
For example, an old video of rapper Lee Young Ji using the n-word during a performance drew
attention online, while Aespa‘s Giselle came under fire for mouthing the same word
a few years ago.
Therefore, YG should learn from these past incidents and take the necessary training
to ensure that their artists, including Ahyeon and BABYMONSTER, are well informed on the
importance of cultural knowledge.
This can help them to minimize the potential consequences caused by inappropriate language
or actions.
__________________________________________________ Are you curious about the last discussion
of today's video?
If so, let’s take a look at it.
Before jumping into the discussion, I would like to inform those who haven't yet heard
that Jisoo has just tested positive for Covid-19 and I am really shocked and sad to hear this
news.
But Jisoo is a strong girl so I believe she will recover and get back to us soon.
So, recently, Jisoo’s fans have stirred up social platforms and received countless
criticism due to their allegedly ridiculous action.
To be more detailed, on 28th May, after the end of the Pop-up store event which was held
in Seongsu-dong, Seoul, Dior Beauty uploaded numerous photos of Korean celebrities like
Kim Yuna, Jisoo, Lee Jun Ho, Haerin, and Jung Hae In.
There would be nothing worth discussing if Jisoo’s photos weren't put after Kim Yuna’s
ones, which literally drove her fans mad.
As soon as fans noticed the order of these photos wasn’t arranged as they expected,
they immediately frowned upon Dior Beauty, questioning the reason why the brand would
let its global ambassador come second.
Some even criticized Dior Beauty, saying that they didn’t respect Jisoo and didn’t treat
her the way she deserves.
However, it seemed like the reaction of Jisoo’s fans received loads of objections from netizens.They
pointed out that it is true that Jisoo's fame is big, but Kim Yuna's influence is even greater
since she has been a world-famous figure skater since Jisoo was only 7 years old.
And though she’s just a house ambassador of Dior, the fact that Kim Yuna is considered
Korea's national treasure due to having won countless national figure skating tournaments
and brought glory to the country is enough for Dior Beauty to give her better treatment.
To this point, netizens all got worked up, questioning Jisoo’s fans whether they are
embarrassed and out of their mind or not when comparing their idol with Kim Yuna because
to them, Kim Yuna is on another level compared to Jisoo though Jisoo is also a world-class
star.
What’s more, some also asked these fans to know their limit and stop being so obsessed
with the title “Dior’s global ambassador” of Jisoo to the point that they take it as
a reason to put her on top of the priority all the time while there are plenty more of
celebrities who have a greater impact than their idol.
Well, I couldn’t agree more with what netizens stated.
I mean I'm not claiming that Kim Yuna is more popular than Jisoo or deserves better treatment
than her, I just agree with the fact that some of Jisoo’s fans are being too sensitive
and somewhat overreacting to this issue, making Jisoo's image and the relationship between
the 2 girls' fans deteriorate.
It would be better if they just take it easy instead of exaggerating everything as if Kim
Yuna was guilty or their idol was treated badly while it’s just the order of the pictures.
So, do you think Chen, Baekhyun, and Xiumin are likely to win this case?
Is Ahyeon's use of the n-word condemnable or acceptable?
And do you think Jisoo was treated unfairly in the above controversy?