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On July 12, 2023, some netizens noticed that a Starship Entertainment staff left an ambiguous comment under NewJeans' recent post. The Instagram post was about Minji's pictorial for the latest Chanel campaign, which she participated in as its brand ambassador.
The staff member wrote "Hmm.." under the post. The comment did not sit well with fans as it was unusual for staff from other companies to comment on posts about K-pop idols. While many overlooked the comment, the controversy was fueled when the same person commented positive and encouraging words under IVE's Instagram post.
Under Rei's post for her Cosmopolitan shoot, the staff commented:
You’re doing great, you’re doing great at everything, our Rei is doing the bestest!
Many felt that the staff member's behavior was inappropriate and childish.
#STARSHIPAPOLOGIZETONEWJEANS trends as Starship Entertainment's staff member comments under NewJeans' post
People familiar with the K-pop debuts would know that NewJeans and IVE debuted less than a year apart. IVE debuted under Starship Entertainment on December 1, 2021, and NewJeans debuted on July 22, 2022, under ADOR Entertainment.
Given that they are both upcoming rookie groups trying to establish themselves in the industry, competition naturally rises. However, this competition is seen more among fans and, in this case, the staff members. When the assumed general manager of Starship Entertainment commented on NewJeans and IVE's posts with different intentions, fans were unhappy.
Since both the members of IVE and NewJeans are teenagers, many expressed that staff members' behavior towards them was quite inappropriate. Additionally, people also said that the staff member was feeding on the fan wars and the sense of competitiveness in a negative way.
The major concern of many has been that the person, being an adult, not only commented on something maliciously but also failed to understand that the music industry and the creation of music shouldn't be looked at with a competitive lens.
Additionally, given that these comments would drastically affect the K-pop idols' emotions since they are still teenagers, many pointed out that the staff members acted without being considerate or cautious.
Fans flooded Twitter expressing their concerns about the behavior of the alleged general manager and trended #STARSHIPAPOLOGISETONEWJEANS. After the staff members received an overflowing amount of criticism from netizens, the person seemed to deactivate their accounts on both Instagram and Twitter.
However, fans and other netizens haven't settled yet. While they are glad that the staff member understands the weight of the issue by deactivating their accounts, they expect proper damage control for the same.
Until they receive a statement of apology from Starship Entertainment dedicated to both NewJeans (Minji in particular) and their fans, they are fixated on trending the issue and garnering more negative attention for the company.
