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Did Enhypen members fat-shame Sunoo? Fans defend idol saying, 'it's not funny anymore'

K-pop fans on Twitter called out Enhypen members after they fat-shamed Sunoo calling him an 'elephant' on VLive

Trigger Warning: Body dysmorphia and Fat Shaming

K-pop idols who grow up together with other idols in one group often have a lot of inside jokes that are passed on to fans from their interactions via VLive or other videos. However, what seems funny to these idols may not seem so to fans who often see the bigger picture. Korean culture is rather conservative in comparison to the west, but as K-pop has finally gone global, one cannot ignore the influence idols have over fans all over the world. This is why mature and self-aware fans of K-pop keep the ignorance of many idols in check and correct their faves when they do or say something wrong.

Be it jokes on idols' skin color or their weight, fans are often protective of the stars and often take it upon themselves to reprimand the trolls that bully them. But when the person making the jokes is a bandmate of the victim, it is often hard for fans to draw the line. This seems to be the case for HYBE's (Be Lift Labs') rookie boy group Enhypen. Over the last few months, fans have noticed that Enhypen members often make nasty comments about member Sunoo in the guise of a joke and the member often takes it well, eventually making a joke about himself. On June 19, four out of seven Enhypen members gathered for a VLive and Sunoo's comments about himself and his weight - based on the perceptions of his bandmates - have caused concern among fans. 

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Enhypen's Sunoo jokes about member Sunghoon's fatphobic comments

Last week, Enhypen's Sunoo alongside members Jungwon, Ni-ki (Niki) and leader Jake gathered on VLive for a special session with fans. All hell broke loose when Sunoo discussed a recent comment from member Sunghoon that was directed at his body weight. This is not the first instance where members of Enhypen have been called out for their insensitive comments about Sunooo's weight. Despite outrage from fans, Enhypen continues to brush the issue under the rug as they have in the past amidst their many other scandals. In their recent VLive, one clip of Sunoo explaining an incident between himself and member Sunghoon is doing the rounds online.

In the clip, Sunoo can be heard joking about when he bumped into Sunghoon, who proceeded to call the member a wild boar. Sunoo said, "Every time I bump into Sunghoon hyung, he’d always say a wild boar hit him and acts like he’s going to fly away." Sunoo then begins laughing and the rest of the members on the live stream follow suit. Following that, member Jungwon added, “The elephant one was really funny," asserting the fact that more fat-shaming jokes have been made about Sunoo in the past. Fans are also pointing out that Sunoo thinks these jokes are funny and this could possibly lead to body dysmorphia in the idol.

'I'm very disappointed in them'

Fans are actively voicing their concerns against Enhypen members constantly fat-shaming Sunoo and joking about his eating habits. One fan said, "I know it's not right for Sunghoon to fat shame Sunoo, nor is it right for anyone to fatshame anyone. But to start fat shaming Sunghoon?? That's a new level of low." Another said, "I’ve been trying to get into enhypen but the way they all fatshame sunoo is such a turn off." One fan said, "Sunoo the only relevant and cute member in that group and instead of being thankful to him they always fatshame him again and again."

Someone else chimed in, "So about this new Enhypen thing all i have to say that i'm very disappointed in them, but what you guys are doing is just really disgusting. No matter what did they do, they still don't deserve this big amount of hate and de@th tre@ths." They added, "Instead of sending them hate and your bulls**t, can't we just call them out and educate them how wrong is what they all said to Sunoo, they are probably smart enough to understand that it's not okay to fatshame people, especially when they aren't even fat."

One fan said, "If they talk to Sunoo like that in front of cameras y’all don’t even imagine what they could say to him off camera, i really think that they are good to Sunoo sometimes, but when it comes to this they are not good at all, they fatshame Sunoo since debut and it’s NOT okay." Another offered, "I'm a fan of enhypen and I love their personality and bond with each other but it's really wrong that other members always fatshame sunoo. I'm disappointed with them even with my bias, Jake. I hope belift will do something about this issue."

Disclaimer: This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.