Leo, a popular trainee from HYBE's Trainee A, confirmed his departure from the pre-debut boy group. Earlier, he was involved in a controversy over alleged misogynist rap lyrics. What's the real reason he's stepping down despite his upcoming debut? Here's what we know!
Leo Leaves HYBE's Trainee A Team For THIS Reason
On August 25, a new vlog was uploaded on Trainee A's official YouTube channel. But instead of being delighted with the new content, K-pop fans expressed sadness after Leo, a member of the pre-debut team confirmed his departure from the group.
In the video, Leo conveyed his apology to fans for rarely updating them about his status and opened up about being a trainee for more than three years. He said:
"I've been a trainee for three years and a half. I started when I was 17 years old so three years and a half felt really long. But, I made a lot of good memories and I also learned a lot about things."
ALSO READ: Here are the 7 Current Members of 'Trainee A', Pre-Debut Group Set to Launch Under Big Hit Music in 2022
Despite emphasizing that he experienced a lot of good things during his journey, Leo hinted at not being mentally okay and confessed his growing worries during his training period.
"On the other hand, during those three and a half years, the worries that I kept inside grows bigger. I tried to suppress it from others but these concerns just kept growing with time until I could no longer control them."
As a result, Leo expressed his desire to take a break, eventually leaving Trainee A.
In addition to this, HYBE also revealed their side in a vlog, saying:
"While preparing for the debut evaluation, Leo expressed his wish to quit. We think he felt a lot of pressure and concerns about whether he can do his best as an artist facing the public. It's not an easy decision for the company, but we decided to respect Leo's decision."
See Leo's full video here:
Leo 'Misogynistic' Rap Lyrics Controversy
Prior to his departure, Leo was a popular trainee from HYBE. He was supposed to debut in a new boy group under the management of Big Hit Music.
The originally seven-member group was introduced through SNS, such as YouTube and Instagram. Since then, the septet released various contents ahead of launch.
Among them, Leo was one of the most popular after initially gaining attention for his top visuals and rap skills.
But the Korean-Australian trainee ended up getting embroiled in a controversy over misogynist rap lyrics.
The issue started on December 29 last year when Leo was seen rapping a song, in which the lyrics depicted women in a bad light. What angered fans was when he revealed that he personally wrote the lyrics of the song.
Later on, Leo and HYBE's content production team apologized to those people who felt offended by his self-written track.
READ MORE: HYBE Trainee Leo Under Fire for Misogynistic Lyrics and Portraying Violence Towards Women in Song
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Written by Eunice Dawson
