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Ex-EXO member Luhan touches hearts with anniversary post after Lay Zhang leaves SM

Luhan celebrates his 10th-debut anniversary by adding a clip of his time with EXO

April 8 has been a pretty bittersweet day for EXO-Ls (EXO’s fandom). Everyone was excited as they celebrated EXO’s 10th anniversary with all of the active members coming on Instagram Live. We also had Chinese member Lay Zhang commenting on their Live which fans found adorable. However, the following hours have been mixed with happiness and sadness. We had the Chinese members Lay and Luhan acknowledging EXO as they celebrated their own 10-year debut anniversary and leaving SM Entertainment.

In the early hours of April 8, Lay Zhang wrote a handwritten letter thanking EXO and their label SM for their love and support. He added that he would be leaving SM now that his contract had expired but he would always be part of EXO when his members need him. And before his letter, we had Luhan taking fans down memory lane as he posted a video of his time in the music industry from 2012 to 2022 including his stint as a member of EXO.

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Why did Luhan leave EXO?

Before EXO started actively promoting eight members, the group had debuted with 12 members. They were further divided into two sub-units with EXO-M consisting of Xiumin, Chen and Chinese members Lay, Luhan, Tao and Kris. Except for Lay, all of the Chinese members filed a lawsuit against SM and requested the label to terminate their contract and leave in 2014. It was revealed that Luhan had wanted to depart since he was facing several health issues and that the label was treating him and the other Chinese members differently than the Korean members from less screentime to barely any endorsements or promotional activities.  

Fans went through a mix of emotions as they were enraged at SM, sad that Luhan was leaving EXO but happy that he had finally found freedom as a soloist. However, they also have fond memories of him as he continues to interact with the other EXO and Chinese members, still follows them on social media and has not tried to erase his past as an EXO member. This was further evident with the 10th-debut anniversary clip that Luhan posted which begins with him introducing himself as part of EXO-M.

'One of a kind'

EXO-Ls ended up trending Luhan as one tweeted, “No you dont understand why everyone loves Luhan 😭 bcs even though he left EXO, he still cherish his memories with them, didnt unfollow them, didnt delete all their prints on his acct, now greeting their 10th anniv. you dont get that closure to anybody else who left their group.” Another fan posted, “Luhan posted a video of a timeline of his life since the start of when he was part of Exo and what he has become now. It was so painfully beautiful that my tears couldn't stop flowing. That video just filled the hole in my heart the moment he left Exo.”

One shared, “Luhan, Tao and Yixing all got their freedom from SM today congrats guys for your freedom.” Another commented, “Luhan is a one of a kind artist who cherishes his friends under any situation. I wouldn't be surprised to see him hang out w/ EXO one day. Thank you for those who appreciate him this time tho I also hope to see the same energy for his solo activities. Please support him too :).”