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On Monday, December 25, NCT's Doyoung was announced as a model for McDonald's Lucky Burger campaign. While fans are always thrilled about the NCT members' collaborations and partnerships, they weren't happy about the recent news that landed on the internet.
There was strong criticism following a prior McDonald's franchise event where free food was given to Israeli soldiers, raising suspicions about the company's support of Israel. Several people across the world strictly boycotted the brand for its participation in the terror against Palestine. Naturally, when it was announced that Doyoung entered a partnership with McDonald's, fans began to criticize the idol.
For many, the news was especially upsetting because there had been earlier reports that the idol had been donated to Palestinians. Fans of the idol are perplexed by his stance and have been calling for the breakup of his collaboration with McDonald's since the idol's partnership was recently announced.
Fans divided as NCT's Doyoung gets selected as a model for McDonald's Lucky Burger campaign amidst reported boycott
McDonald's recently announced its upcoming Lucky Burger Campaign which is expected to be rolled out on December 26. NCT's Doyoung is one of the many celebrities who was selected to serve as the campaign's models. The announcement that the idol would be participating in the Lucky Burger campaign sparked several debates on the internet, as fans discussed the controversial issue.
In October 2023, the McDonald's franchise in Israel was reported to have availed free food to the members of the Israeli military, which sparked much criticism and backlash towards the band. Since several people have been actively boycotting brands that support the reported genocide of Palestinians, McDonald's was also added to the list of boycotted companies as of October.
Therefore, when NCT's Doyoung was announced as a model for their upcoming campaign, fans and netizens were collectively furious about the same. Initially, many fans were confused about the announcement since not too long ago, the idol was revealed to have donated to WPF Korea Umbrella Fund Charity, which contributed to the suffering families of Palestine.
However, with the recent announcement, many netizens began to criticize the idol. Regardless, many fans stated that they'd continue to cheer the idol's McDonald's collab despite the boycott to showcase their support for his endeavors. Naturally, many netizens rose against this stance and criticized them for supporting the idol's participation in the campaign amidst the serious boycott of companies that have been supporting Palestine's reported genocide.
Especially given his position as a famous K-pop idol, fans are naturally concerned about the influence it would create on the masses to engage with McDonald's despite its controversial stance. As fans continued their debate, they've also been calling out SM Entertainment for its partnerships and the idol who's collaborating with McDonald's despite the heavily notified boycott.
Here's how fans have reacted:
While fans also expressed that they'll continue to showcase their support towards the idol through other means, they strictly confessed that many fans will not be engaging with Doyoung's Lucky Burger campaign content.
Additionally, since many fans have also been concerned about the idol's sudden shift in his alleged support towards Palestine, they've also been demanding and requesting the idol to blackout from the partnership or terminate his contract with McDonald's.
