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Billboard under fire of DISRESPECTING Stray Kids in an interview, fans demand 'delete it and apologize'

Fans slam Billboard's interview with Stray Kids where the fourth gen boy group is asked uncomfortable questions about BTS as well as Hyunjin's controversial past

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA: The international music magazine, Billboard has always been something that fans of K-pop give huge respect to. Being included on Billboard charts or being featured on a cover of the magazine as well as winning a Billboard Music award are all considered to be high points in the journey of a musical act. However, over the years, Billboard's interviews with K-pop acts have failed to satisfy fans of K-pop due to their insensitive and controversial questions to groups like BTS and now fourth-gen boys, Stray Kids.

On September 8, Billboard released the newest issue of their magazine featuring JYP Entertainment's eight-member boy group, Stray Kids. Along with the feature, the boys were interviewed by Billboard which was released on the same day. Initially, Stays (fans of Stray Kids) were extremely excited about the interview but after it was officially released, fans pointed out how disrespectful the article had been towards the members of Stray Kids.

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Billboard Magazine under fire for disrespecting Stray Kids

In the interview released by Billboard, fans were initially happy to read questions about Stray Kids' rise to the top and how the JYP Entertainment boy group became as successful as they have within four years since their debut. However, the questions soon progressed into mentioning a disproven controversy pertaining to Hyunjin's past. Back in 2021, Hyunjin was embroiled in school bullying scandal allegations and Billboard's mention of the controversy had fans calling the entire excerpt unrequired.

Billboard has ever since edited out questions pertaining to Hyunjin's controversy but hasn't deleted the excerpt yet. Not only that the Billboard interview for Stray Kids also mentioned BTS a couple of times which has enraged Stays. The interview talked about Stray Kids standing in for BTS now that they were on a hiatus which fans call disrespectful of Stray Kids' hard work.

This has fans triggered by Billboard's constant mention of BTS as well as the unnecessary mention of Hyunjin's past in their article as one fan explained, "To all the strays shocked and/or upset at the billboard article adding unnecessary info and being weird abt the kpop industry, welcome to the trenches!! it only gets worse from here:// ive been watching the trajectory of kpop in the US and the subsequent media approach to it for a long time and American journalists never fail to disappoint me. i need y'all to understand, a majority of the media in the US still thinks boy and girl bands are "teenage girl obsessions." One more fan edited the entire article saying, "Stray Kids’ Billboard Article as it should’ve been."

'Do better Billboard'

One fan said, "Billboard wrote an article so terrible it k¡lled the queen." Another fan said, "The way the whole stayville was just partying because skz was featured for billboard cover but in a split of seconds we’re now in chaos again after reading the article." Another said, "BILLBOARD CAN GO TO HELL FOR THAT ARTICLE LIKE WHY WOULD YOU EVEN BRING UP WHAT HAPPENED WITH HYUNJIN YOU PUNK BITCHES." One fan said, "This article is supposed to be about the achievements and success Stray Kids has achieved over the past year. The mention of DISPROVEN allegations against one of the members is highly irresponsible and sickening. Do better as a journalist."

One more fan said, "Billboard really fucked up with the stray kids cover story. you really think research and actual care would be put into an article like that. especially when billboards only real goal is to gain anything off the likeness of stray kids." Another fan said, "You should remove the mention of bts and the disproved allegation about Hyunjin it's unnecessary. delete unnecessary parts and apologize officially." One fan said, "I wasn't expecting this from a famous site like you, I found out that you are immature, so why this comparison! I don't understand that you should delete the article that offends Stray Kids and us or we ask you to apologize!!" Another fan said, "It's the disrespect and downplaying their work, effort, artistry and success that is putting me on edge... Hyunjin can't lose his smile again, I can't imagine how they are all feeling."

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