Amid ADOR vs. HYBE's conflict, frustrated Bunnies accused the parent company of trying to sabotage NewJeans' comeback.
On May 24, NewJeans' much-awaited comeback took place with the release of their new EP, "How Sweet," comprising a same-name title track and a b-side, "Bubble Gum."
Without any special promotion, the MV immediately exceeded 8.6 million views in just four days after its release, showing its high popularity.
However, the problem started to surface one by one after the song, "How Sweet," was suddenly subject to age restrictions.
Immediately, HYBE received massive criticism for allegedly imposing it, but the parent company refuted this and explained:
"HYBE does not set an age limit when uploading music videos to YouTube. YouTube classifies content as age-restricted according to its own standards. We already requested YouTube headquarters to confirm the exact facts and what criteria the viewing age was restricted."
Still, Bunnies (NewJeans fandom) raised conspiracy theories that HYBE is actually doing this to the group because of its conflict with ADOR's CEO Min Hee Jin.
ALSO READ: Did HYBE Really Restrict NewJeans MV? The Internet Reacts
In fact, some netters claimed that they contacted YouTube directly and received a response that HYBE put the age restriction themselves.
Some fans also noticed that comments under the "How Sweet" MV were being deleted especially those that contained criticism about HYBE.
As of May 29, the age restriction for the MV has been lifted. However, the conspiracy theory that the label is neglecting NewJeans continued after a netizen opened up in an online community, saying:
"NewJeans album is supposed to sell at least 1 million copies, not 810,000, but the delivery invoice for the quantity purchased from Weverse Shop did not arrive even a few days after the release date. It's so funny that HYBE, who pushes things, doesn't send out only NewJeans albums."
The OP added:
"The current series of actions are dirty and vicious."
In a recent conversation shared between Min and founder Bang Si Hyuk, the latter proposed an album "pushback" to break aespa's highest first-week album sales record.
Amid these complaints, other fans of HYBE indirectly defended the label but also added to the frustration that it is a common problem among HYBE artists.
Here are some of the comments:
- "It’s not just NewJeans, but it's always been like that for HYBE artists.”
- "The album I ordered for BTS member RM hasn’t arrived yet, too."
- "All HYBE artists have been like this."
- "This is a problem we have been experiencing since 2022 "
- “HYBE's work handling is the problem, not just NewJeans’ problem."
- "HYBE's work handling method needs to be improved.”
READ MORE: NewJeans Hyein Spotted Walking In Crutches + Bunnies Heartbroken Over Idol's Current State
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Written by Eunice Dela Cruz
