On MBC's "PD Notebook" discussed the issues and allegations behind the reality talent survival program "Produce X 101."
According to the hopeful, he and his fellow trainees are required to hand in their mobile phones, to wear the same clothing as everyone else, to receive permission when going to the bathroom, and to eat at the same time. Further, they are prohibited to go out.
Trainee C also revealed that they were surprised upon the sudden change of choosing the first "center," who's going to perform their theme "X1-MA." According to him, the one in the center position was initially chosen by the trainees. However, they were suddenly told about the changes in the voting system, making the viewers be the ones voting instead.
This was why the trainee who was originally been tasked to do the center part was shocked upon this abrupt shift.
Another candidate revealed that they discovered while filming that the votes will be coming from the "national producers" instead.
"Everyone thought that since [name redacted] had a fandom and was really popular, he would of course be the one to do it, but then it was [name redacted]... everyone knew to start then," he disclosed.
Earlier, MBC stated through "Newsdesk" that a contestant told them that one of the hopefuls found out the mission earlier than anyone else from the dance instructor, which resulted in them practicing their piece in advance. On "PD Notebook," the trainee revealed that it was a candidate from the agency Starship who uncovered the information, adding that that certain candidate received so much pressure from the agency.
Speaking of the line distribution, Trainee C shared, "There were scenes in the show that seemed to be showing how the lines were distributed in the recording studio. The trainees would each take turns doing a part."
In reality, according to him, the show writer would give them a lecture for half an hour but will have to go with a specific person without a choice in the end.
"Suddenly PD [producing director] Ahn Joon Young came and took the composer out of the room. They talked outside of the room for an hour," he added.
Another issue discussed in "PD Notebook" was the unfair amount of screen time among the trainees. One member of the production staff revealed, "We're told from above, 'Focus on this person while filming. Show this kind of appearance.'"
He added that he often received the command, "'Let's give him a bit less screen time," or, "Let's increase his screen time a bit."
One trainee added that it was clear from the get-go that the trainees from Starship were the ones being pushed more compared to the rest. "PD Notebook" asked for an explanation regarding this but the agency just said they could not provide a statement while the investigation is in progress.
Further, a contestant stated, "When the final ranking was revealed, we were all surprised, but someone said to the other trainees, 'I actually knew that I wouldn't make it.'"
He added that the team leader from Woollim Entertainment disclosed that only one from this agency would be absorbed. Moreover, another trainee revealed that there was this one candidate who had bigger screen time and appeared in almost every preview compared to others.
"He was in the first, second, and third previews and was always shown whenever we did a ranking ceremony, and in almost all the previews and behind-the-scenes videos. We'd even say to each other, 'Isn't that too much?'" He detailed.
Officials from various entertainment companies were asked about their two cents about the survival program, and one agency head said that it's a "common sense" that the show is rigged. The others shared that they didn't think the 11 ones who made it was actually chosen fairly.
"PD Notebook" then talked to the staff who elucidated the process of calculating the final scores. According to them, the final scores are not determined by someone from the control room but by an off-site PD. This certain PD worked alone in his own respective space and sent texts with the numbers to the staff members who fed in the scores as screen captions.
"If it was manipulated, then wouldn't it have gone through Ahn Joon Young? Since he's the main PD, his opinion was unconditionally strong," a staff member said.
"It's true that Ahn Joon Young is like a sacrificial lamb. I don't really like that expression, but it's not something that he could have handled all on his own," another one shared.
CJ ENM official they wouldn't respond to comments regarding this issue as the investigation is still taking place.
