"Let's calm down": Netizens defend Lee Youngji from hateful remarks after her special stage performance with IVE's Yujin at the 2023 Gayo Daejejeon

South Korean popular rapper Lee Young-ji, who goes by her stage name Youngji, has been facing a barrage of hateful remarks for her special stage performance with IVE's Yujin on December 31, 2023. Both artists performed at the 2023 MBC's Gayo Daejejeon.

They won the hearts of people all around the world when they played End Off Time and Born This Way. However, once the performance was posted online, several users attacked YoungJi, saying that Yujin should have performed with someone else and that the rapper had ruined the show.

After rapper Lee Young-ji received hateful remarks, online users stepped forward to support her. They tweeted on Twitter (now X) saying that it is "concerning" to see the rapper getting hate.

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"Be careful with your words": Youngji clicks on the like button on malicious hate comments directed at on social media

Youngji sang End of Time and Born This Way together with her friend and fellow idol Yujin during 2023 MBC's Gayo Daejejeon. Lee Young-ji's choreography was amazing and the performance was particularly on point. Although the Smoke rapper has received support and admiration from her followers, she has also received a lot of hate mail, comments, and tweets for her performance with Yujin.

Netizens observed that the rapper has been clicking on the "Like" button on a lot of tweets from netizens who are not just criticizing but even demeaning her to the point of brutality. They have shamed others for writing unkind things online which could psychologically and emotionally distress a human being.

Some noted how much people appreciated the relationship between Yujin and Youngjii, while others claimed that people just seemed to enjoy "hating" on the rapper for reasons they didn't understand.

However, many fans were enthusiastically applauding the duet and the way the two stars complement each other. Many have observed a surge in dislike for the rapper Youngji as her notoriety has grown and she interacts with idols more frequently.

Here are some of the reactions from fans trying to defend Youngji:

Yujin from IVE and Young-ji are well-known for their friendship as the IVE singer had appeared on the rapper's YouTube show My Alcohol Diary. The two have engaged in some amusing exchanges and fans have wanted to see them perform together since then.

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Netizens throw hateful comments on Youngji for her TikTok reel with NCT's Mark

Meanwhile, NCT recently shared a video of its member Mark participating in the Baggy Jeans dance challenge alongside rapper Lee Young-ji and IVE's Yujin on TikTok and Instagram on January 2, 2024. At the time of writing, the video had 1.5 million views on TikTok after going viral.

Upon learning that Lee Young-ji had previously disclosed that she is a huge fan of NCT's Mark and had even subscribed to his Bubble account, many fans were thrilled to witness this unexpected trio.

However, a number of K-pop fans and netizens criticized for Lee Young-ji. Some found fault with her dance and funny facial expressions in the video, saying it looked like she was purposefully dancing inappropriately to make others laugh.

This is not the first time that Youngji received hate from netizens. Lee Young Ji is well-known for her lighthearted YouTube series My Alcohol Diary (also called There's Nothing Much To Offer), in which she hosts drinks and interviews celebrities. On January 2, 2023, several fans of the K-pop group SEVENTEEN lashed out at Youngji for her remark towards DK in her show.

The Smoke rapper had mentioned as a joke that SEVENTEEN's DK sends long text messages to her that look like spam notifications. Fans of the group did not like the statement from an eight-month-old YouTube video and lashed out at the rapper for which she had to issue an apology letter.

Even then, several netizens came forward to defend the Smoke rapper and called out individuals for spreading hate after the release of YouTube video after eight months. Moreover, supporters highlighted that SEVENTEEN's vocalist DK and Youngji are good friends and hence as per the supporters, the "hate" directed towards the rapper over a simple joke was uncalled for.

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Many fans were excited to see the two perform at the MBC's Gayo Daejejeon on December 31, 2023, and cheered for their duet. They also found her interaction with NCT's Mark endearing, unlike a few netizens.