On June 3, NCT members Johnny and Haechan were accused of having casual relationships with three Japanese fans. The issue eventually received national coverage, causing a major buzz across the K-pop community.
On June 4, fans expressed their heartbreak on X (Twitter), after seeing Haechan's appearance in public. Photos showed that the idol was present at the airport, but fans pointed out how sad he looked due to the ongoing scandal rumors.
The issue started when an X (Twitter) user named @kira_ceo_main, a well-known nightlife organizer in Japan, claimed that Johnny and Haechan had slept with three women, who are also fans of other members of NCT.
Accusations started pouring in when the photos claimed that the two idols were allegedly spotted with the women and that the group had drinks together.
Things got even more suspicious when netizens found a picture that flaunted a hotel room key, along with Johnny's alleged conversation with one of the girls in KakaoTalk.
Furthermore, netizens also exposed two of the three girls online, with some having found their official social media accounts.
Johnny and Haechan instantly caught flak on social media platforms and online communities.
However, fans were heavily skeptical of the accusations, as many claimed that the photos were only posted by an obsessive stalker of the group. They also countered that these random pictures were shared in order to fuel hate against the two NCT members.
This led netizens to urge SM Entertainment to protect the boys from the controversy and claims, which some consider baseless.
The issue didn't take long for SM Entertainment to respond, because on June 4, the agency released an official statement addressing the accusations.
According to the statement, the agency shared that the circulating rumors were baseless and were designed to inflict harm on the artists.
"After reviewing the rumors, we would like to share that these claims are false," SM shared. "These are illegal acts aiming to defame the character of our artists."
Netizens reacted to the statement and overall issue:
"Why are rumors getting so dirty nowadays? And why are they made so easily? Everyone's head is rotting."
"I bet the idols and the fans will soon develop some disease because of all the rumors they make."
"I was shocked that this grew in scale so much."
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