ILLIT receives criticism for allegedly copying EXO's signature 'L' hand sign in their recent X post 

On Sunday, April 21, the new K-pop girl group, ILLIT released a couple of group photos of the members at Inkigayo's backstage on their official X account. The caption thanked the group's fans for the immense amount of support and love they received for their debut album, SUPER REAL ME.

While fans were happy to see the heartfelt message, netizens soon noticed something that did not sit well with them. The X post consisted of three photos in total, and one of the photos showed the members making the 'L' sign with their hands.

While this sign most likely refers to the two Ls in their group name, ILLIT, what irked fans was that the same sign has been an integral part of the third-generation K-pop group, EXO. Since EXO's fans are referred to as EXO-Ls, which expands to EXO-LOVE, the 'L' sign is used by the members when they refer to their fandom.

ILLIT's usage of the 'L' hand sign to refer to their fandom, just like EXO, has caused quite a stir on the internet. EXO fans have been accusing the group and their agency, HYBE Labels, for allegedly copying the K-pop boy group's meaningful hand sign.

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ILLIT under fire for allegedly copying EXO's 'L' hand sign

ILLIT is a five-member K-pop girl group formed by HYBE's subsidiary label, Belift Lab.

The group was formed through R U Next?, a reality survival show organized in collaboration with HYBE Labels and Belif Lab. The final episode put forth six members who will be making their debut in the K-pop industry. However, a few weeks before the group's debut, it was announced that a member, Yongseo, departed the group and the agency due to personal reasons.

Regardless, the group's debut garnered a lot of attention and the title track of their debut album, Magnetic, took over the internet.

However, it hasn't necessarily been smooth sailing for ILLIT ever since their debut, and the most recent controversy they've been tangled up in is due to their use of the hand sign 'L'. After wrapping up their SBS Inkigayo stage on April 21, the group posted a set of photos of the members backstage.

The hand sign in one of the photos immediately grabbed the attention of many, who couldn't help but connect it to EXO, a nine-member K-pop boy group that debuted in 2012 under SM Entertainment. The group currently stands as one of the most popular third-generation artists in the K-pop industry.

Therefore, when the group's signature move was allegedly copied by ILLIT, fans couldn't help but be angered by the same. Though fans understood that the 'L' hand sign was used to refer to both the group and their fandom, they still criticized the girl group and their agency for copying EXO's signature pose, especially since it carries years of history and meaning.

This isn't the first time that ILLIT is facing plagiarism accusations. Most recently, the group announced their fandom name to be LILLY or LILLIES. While fans loved the play of words, they soon noticed that BLACKPINK Lisa's fandom also goes by the same name.

Since it resulted in similar problems of plagiarism and 'copying' allegations, fans are now calling out the group's agency for their lack of proper planning and management.