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Was Leo forced to leave Trainee A? Fans think HYBE won't take any chances after Garam

Fans wonder if Leo's exit from Trainee A has less to do with mental health issue and more to do with HYBE wanting to avoid a controversy for his past lyrics

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA: There is not a day in K-pop that is free of drama and so is the case for the pre-debut boy group, Trainee A and its former member Leo. The rapper was the most famous member of the group and now fans are shocked as Leo reveals that he has decided to part ways with Trainee A. The pre-debut group made a name for itself over the last few years and was the most anticipated boy group debut from HYBE's first label, Big Hit Music. With seven members, just like BTS, Trainee A (rumored to be called Aloner's Association) was going to be the third boy group under the label following BTS and TXT. 

On August 26, Leo took to the group's YouTube channel to let fans know of his whereabouts and revealed that he was no longer going to be a part of Trainee A. He did not mention the clear reason behind his exit but fans believe it has something to do with HYBE Labels forcing the rapper to quit. In the video, Leo shared how he has been a trainee for the last three-and-a-half years. He explained that as he grew older, his constant worries about the future kept increasing. As a result of that, he wishes to work on himself and has decided to leave Trainee A.

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Did HYBE force Leo to leave Trainee A?

The issue around HYBE's Le Sserafim and Kim Garam is not unknown to the world. As soon as she was introduced, Garam was met with school bullying allegations that blew up so much so that it became a national controversy in South Korea. In the past, during his trainee period, Leo too had been embroiled in a controversy that had fans calling him a misogynist. The rapper was first seen in BTS' 'Permission To Dance' music video as a backup dancer and soon after that fans found a video of him rapping a verse that slandered women.

The former Trainee A member, Leo was called out for writing misogynistic rap lyrics for a song titled ‘Showdown’ from a now-deleted video on Trainee A's YouTube handle where he was caught singing about having sex with a woman till she "stops breathing". Fans now think that after defending Garam first and then making her leave Le Sserafim, HYBE does not want further backlash for debuting a trainee with controversies. They also believe that if HYBE chooses to debut Leo, the rapper is bound to draw attention to his past scandals which will further taint the reputation of the label. 

'HYBE wants a clean group'

Fans share their opinions about Leo's sudden departure from Trainee A as one fan said, "He was a trainee under bighit and was supposed to debut in trainee a. his mental health has been going down so he recently left. Also it probably also has to do w his scandal bc after garam hybe wants a clean group." Another fan said, "Wasn't he the violent misogynist? hybe wasn't going to debut him anyways especially after the garam backlash." One fan said, "Oh 2022 has not been HYBE's year."

One fan said, "HYBE truly can’t protect their artists for shit huh. Why they decided to broadcast trainees and leave them susceptible to backlash before even debuting is insane pressure. Not to mention nobody around him to interrogate the lyrics from that showcase and guide him." One more fan said, "Hybe just wanted to prevent garam 2.0." One fan said, "Hybe really said “we are not dealing with garam like situation one more time” and they are so smart for this."

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