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Fans support fromis_9's Saerom after Knetz slam her for being 'sick' of going live

Before the K-pop idol realized she was on VLive she said, 'I’m so sick of this. I wanna hurry up and go home, right now'

Being a K-pop idol, as well as the leader of a group, is no walk in the park. It is especially hard for underrated groups with a large number of members, like the nine-membered fromis_9. Having debuted in 2017 after competing in a survival show, the girl group moved from label to label and were almost on the verge of disbanding as they had yet to gain the popularity they needed to be successful and fund their activities. They got their lucky break when HYBE decided to sign them on to their K-pop label Pledis.

They got their second career win when their latest release ‘DM’ became their most successful one yet. However, with them taking five years to finally make their mark in K-pop, it is understandable that fromis_9 might have a more weathered attitude. On February 11, they went live on VLive with their leader Saerom being a little too honest about how she was feeling. Before she realized that they were live, she said, “I’m so sick of this. I wanna hurry up and go home, right now.” 

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Saerom gets honest on VLive

The live went viral on Korean platforms as many Knetizens found fromis_9’s leader Saerom rude. They made posts like, “If you don't want to be an idol, then just quit. Easy as that.” Many made rude jokes like, “If I were in an idol group and my group wasn't famous even after 5-years like them, I would be pissed too lol.” One user added, “If you don't want to do 'V Live's than go practice your vocals seriously... you can't even sing,” referring to the live singing of ‘DM' which was off-key as it was way higher than the girls’ original vocals and octaves. Many also trolled the group by saying, “This isn't even surprising honestly. These girls always look like they're pissed," and "Nice knowing you, bye.”

Update: Saerom later clarified that she was indeed addressing the isolation period that the members had to go through due to Covid-19. She said, "I enjoyed being alone in quarantine after being with the members constantly for so long, but then I later got tired to death of not being able to go outside...I wasn’t able to return to the dorm until Seoyeon, who lives in the same dorm, tested negative, so I was worried about her and said that I wanted to go home quickly to see her. I think that these words were overheard without context and so they were misunderstood." 

'Immature'

Another Twitter user added, “I'd be sad if my bias comment like that, n maybe stopping stan them. Like VLive is one of platform for fans to see their idol. Fans dont really asked for it, the company manage it for their promotion. And to comment she sick of it, is just iresponsible and immature.” However, international fans felt Knetizens were going overboard and shared supportive comments. One tweeted, “But she just finished quarantine. Her mental health isn't that strong yet Since so many things happen since the comeback. I'd feel sick too if I just finished quarantine and the first thing they asked me to do is doing a Vlive which require quite much energy to cheer up the mood.”

'She gets tired and that's normal'

Another user posted, “They think it's easy to be an idol. That it's just singing, always smiling and breathing the wrong way is already criticized. They should stop spewing unnecessary hate when idols are being HUMAN and yes, showing they're tired.” One fan added, “She's an idol, she gets tired and that's normal, it's not even an offensive comment why are y'all like this😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 JUST STOP. TOXICITY IS EVERYWHERE.” One user said, “I like it though. It shows idols have some feelings, not like a robot acting professional on camera all the time.”

Another pointed out, “That's just sad. And disappointing for her and her dreams, too. She participated in an idol competition to debut and promote in that group and after just a few years she's sick of having to interact with fans? Can't she remember desperately wishing for this? Either she's been disillusioned and she just sees being an idol as a job now, or she cares very little for the fans who supported her and her dreams. This is why I prefer spontaneous or personally arranged Vlives by groups, because at the very least, it shows the group enjoying even casual interactions online with fans, and that they don't have to be forced by their staffs and managers to look happy for an audience.”

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.