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All Korean members exit Blackswan, fans worry about 'Fatou being left with her bully'

Korean members Youngheun and Judy were the main vocalist and dancer of the K-pop group before leaving

It seems that Blackswan fans cannot catch a break. Weeks after everyone was excited for the newest addition and first Indian K-pop idol to debut in the group, we now have some sad news. On July 31, DR Music shared that both Korean members Judy and Youngheun had ‘graduated’ and were leaving the group. The label shared that the girl group always had a graduation system in place with new members being added over the years since Rania’s rebranding as Blackswan and the latest addition of Gabi and Sriya. From the original lineup, only Fatou and Leia remain.

Blackswan, first known as Rania had debuted Alexandra, the first K-pop idol of African origin. However, several of the original members left, with the group adding new members and redebuting in October 2020. Unfortunately, there was a bullying scandal between African member Fatou and Brazilian member Leia. Leia’s fanpage claimed that she had been bullied by Fatou. The latter shared that it was Leia who had been difficult, got into verbal fights, was manipulative and gaslighting. DR Music shared that there were cultural differences, and added that Leia’s fans had exaggerated the matter.

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Korean members Judy and Youngheun leave

While Fatou is the main rapper and Leia is the visual of the group, it was Youngheun who was the main vocalist and had been since her Rania days. Even Judy held a main position as the main dancer of Blackswan. With fans wondering about Sriya and Gabi’s capability as they have only trained for a couple of months instead of years like the usual K-pop idols, Blackswan’s future success is being questioned. On top of that, with the only Korean members – Youngheun and Judy leaving, fans think Blackswan will not be able to succeed in South Korea. Previously, original Rania member and main vocalist Hyeme had also left Blackswan in November 2020.

‘Free Fatou’

With Fatou being a favorite even among non-Blackswan fans, K-pop Twitter is sympathising and worrying about her status in a problematic industry where racist and colorist incidents still occur. One fan hoped, “Judy and Youngheun left blackswan but not dr music what if they will form a group with fatou and promote as a three member group.” Another joked, “DR coming up with BlackSwan having a “graduation system” 5 minutes before posting the statement:.” A Youngheun fan shared, “Wait .. Blackswan lost HER ?!? Oh they’re in trouble …”

With Fatou being close to the two girls, another tweeted, “Bout to start bawling my eyes out. Now she’s all alone :( someone save my girl.” One fan posted, “So now blackswan without main dancer & main vocal ☠️ and no korean members the whole group gonna mess up.” Another commented, “No korean member, no strong vocal, fatou being left with her bülly, two new foreign member who are unprepared...mess after mess after mess.” One fan wrote, “I don't even Stan BlackSwan but this is angering. They don't HAVE a graduation system- it's an excuse for their terrible management. Then, they're leaving Fatou with someone who lied and tried to ruin her whole career…”

Another was angry, “Im sorry but blackswan is not! going places without their main dancer and main vocal/leader. don’t even want to know what the comeback will sound like without the voices of our vocal line. well! since my biases are gone you wont see me talk about blackswan anymore!” One fan wrote, “Love how the majority of the tl is in agreement that BlackSwan should disband like honestly let the group dissolve pls and FREE FATOU 😭 and let DR never be allowed near female idols ever again.”

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