Ever since several netizens landed the leaked schedules of FIFTY FIFTY during the promotions of their song Cupid's release on Friday, July 7, many have been scrutinizing the group for supposedly exaggerating the mistreatment they received from their agency, ATTRAKT. As per AllKpop, netizens supposedly dug through the web to find out the schedules that the rookie K-pop group had been engaging with.
On June 23, it was revealed by the group's legal representative, BARUN Law, that all four members have filed lawsuits against ATTRAKT on June 19 for its disregard for their health and the lack of transparency with their financials.
While the issue around the financial aspect of the lawsuit is yet to be resolved, upon viewing the leaked schedule of FIFTY FIFTY during Cupid's promotions, many expressed that it was just as busy as every rookie K-pop girl group.
Additionally, many expressed that living conditions and other things associated with their health concerns looked supposedly alright to them, adding that the group was exaggerating and blowing the issue out of proportion.
However, the group's fans and other netizens soon came to its defense by stating that there must be a deeper reason and other unknown factors as to why the group filed a lawsuit against ATTRAKT:
Fans storm to defend FIFTY FIFTY as netizens scrutinize them for exaggerating their lawsuit against ATTRAKT
From their initial reveal of the reason behind their lawsuit to their first trial that happened between FIFTY FIFTY and ATTRAKT, the members revealed that their obligations regarding their health haven't been met appropriately. This was apparently one of the many concerns they held against their agency. The group added in their lawsuit:
"We intend to terminate the exclusive contract based on three reasons: lack of settlement data transparency, violation of the artist's health care obligations, and insufficient support for essential resources."
The reason behind the lack of health concerns from ATTRAKT is the issue surrounding Aran and her surgery. Around the time of May 2023, the agency announced that the said member is currently undergoing surgery for personal reasons and that she'll be taking the recommended rest of two months.
However, the group expressed that the member wasn't given enough rest due to its opportunity to participate in the upcoming Greta Gerwig-directorial, Barbie's OST. The group also added that Aran's surgery news was shared publicly without its consent.
But recently on July 4, Dispatch revealed with the release of the text messages between Jeon Hoon-jong and Ah Sung-il (CEOs of ATTRAKT and The Givers respectively, the group's two management companies) that the group was allegedly given an eighteen-day off between May 10 to 28.
Dispatch also revealed that the group received special training in vocal, rap, dance, and English lessons while living in a three-bedroom apartment in Gangnam, a posh area in Seoul, South Korea, which made their lives look sophisticated.
Additionally, with FIFTY FIFTY's comeback schedule recently being revealed to the public where the group had no more than six to seven schedules to keep up with, the girls were all the more scrutinized.
Fans came to the group's defense stating that the members' reason for a lawsuit might be regarding several other concerns and factors that are unrevealed and unknown to the public.
Moreover, they also expressed that the state of K-pop trainees has lowered the standards of bare necessities and requirements, which makes people question and criticize FIFTY FIFTY for demanding better care and management.