NewJeans' Min HeeJin to sue for defamation, slams 'pedophile' rumors as blasphemy
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA: Artists are allowed to have creative liberty and it is mostly understood that it doesn’t reflect one’s point of view on certain matters in reality. This was understood by fans of media pieces that have problematic themes like ‘Game of Thrones’, 'Call Me By Your Name', ‘Lolita’, ‘Sade’, ‘Leon’ and ‘Blue Lagoon’. Fans have often understood that they can appreciate the art and its artist without having to conform to any problematic subtext. It seems that the same goes for Min HeeJin as she is now threatening to sue after being called a 'pedophile' and for sexualisation of minors in her new girl group NewJeans.
HYBE debuted the girl group NewJeans under their new label ADOR being run by creative director Min HeeJin. She had a huge fan following in South Korea for designing several popular comebacks for the likes of SHINee, Red Velvet, f(x) and NCT Dream when she was under SM Entertainment. Her influence was evident as NewJeans became instantly popular as fans praised their Y2K aesthetic, music and music videos. They went on to break several records like the highest pre-orders and highest first-day sales for a girl group debut. However, where there is fame there will be antis lurking to take you down.
READ MORE
Why is NewJeans popular? Knetz cite Min HeeJin’s influence before ‘pedophile’ scandal
NewJeans' Min HeeJin slammed for ‘pedophilic’ comments and sexualization of minors
Min HeeJin hate gets out of hand
Following the introduction of NewJeans, Min HeeJin was involved in a ‘pedophile’ scandal as fans called her out for allegedly sexualising minors, emphasizing their innocence, getting inspiration from exploited child actresses Natalie Portman, Olivia Hussey and Brooke Shields, and posting young-looking models in risque positions on her Instagram. Fans also slammed her for allowing NewJeans members who are as young as 14 to wear tube tops, crop tops, minis, bodycon outfits and graphic tees with words like ‘p*mp’.
While fans are rightfully worried of young girls being sexualised by older fans due to their outfits, some went as far as to call Min HeeJin a pedophile despite there being no evidence. The scandal has gotten out of hand as fans are asking Min HeeJin to be removed from the management of NewJeans solely based on speculation. Trolls were also using the opportunity to hate on the minor-aged members of NewJeans. Well, their label ADOR has decided to take legal action.
Min HeeJin and ADOR will be suing for defamation against those who have been spreading such rumors. They shared, “The level of dissemination of false information and blasphemy is serious and should not be overlooked, civil and criminal lawsuits have been initiated. I thought that malicious commenters were also fans, so I gave them a pass, but a significant amount of violations were discovered during the legal review.”
'There is place for legit constructive criticism'
Fans who were upset at the uncalled hate are happy that finally some action is being taken. Knetz made comments like, “Goodㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Go catch them all,” “There are so many disgusting talks surrounding NewJeans. They should really sue those people,” and “They've crossed the line, of course they need to be sued.” Users also said that even if fans were uncomfortable with concept inspiration, calling someone a pedophile was too much, “Of course you can criticize her but if what you wrote could get you sued, of course you need to take responsibility over it,” and “There is place for legit constructive criticism regarding what she did, but she needs to sue her hate commenters for sure. Fighting.”
One user said, “Actually there are lies in the "expose" thread like something someone else said suddenly turn into hers, and how the lolita concept was her work when the idol herself requested to do it. There are more but yall wont listen bc the only reason yall cared bc it's related to the new hybe gg which is newjeans. the ppl who made the thread just want to spread a reason to boycott the newjeans... Honestly there are questionable things about her but ‘confirming’ her as a pedophile is just a reach.” Another hoped the girl group would not get any hate, “As they should. The girls have to protected at all times, no one should say something malicious or post any malicious things about them. Good job, Ador hope you'll stay alert at all times, same with the fans. NewJeans, fighting! <33.” Fans have already started reporting hate to ADOR, “Look at this.”
As they should. The girls have to protected at all times, no one should say something malicious or post any malicious things about them. Good job, Ador hope you'll stay alert at all times, same with the fans. NewJeans, fighting! <33
— hassrie ✧∘˚˳° (@hannjibunch) August 10, 2022
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.