"It's really not that serious" — Fans defend ZEROBASEONE's Gunwook amid alleged strawberry controversy

On September 18, a netizen on X criticized ZEROBASEONE's Gunwook for his actions during a birthday livestream of another member of the group. During the livestream, the idol was seen eating strawberries that were placed on top of the birthday cake.

The netizen pointed out that the idol ate eleven out of the fourteen strawberries on the cake, alleging that this was disrespectful to the other members, given that there were eight others to share the cake with. The netizen also pointed out that it wasn't Gunwook's birthday, labeling his actions as supposedly disrespectful and unacceptable. In a caption for the video showing Gunwook eating strawberries, netizen wrote:

"The ‘strawberry controversy’ is that Gunwook, who ate 11 strawberries even though there are 9 members, seems to be the one to blame. It’s not even his birthday cake; it’s someone else’s birthday cake, so why did he eat so much?"

However, many fans and other netizens soon came to the idol's defense, arguing that the controversy was baseless and unnecessary. They pointed out that there was no reason for the idol to be criticized for merely eating strawberries on a cake. Additionally, they noted that none of the other members seemed to have a problem with Gunwook's actions.

Netizens and fans stated that they found the whole controversy quite hilarious, as it seemed like people were trying to create unnecessary controversy and problems around the idol. One fan on X commented:

"it's really not that serious also, other took strawberries too, let my boy eat in peace god"

A few reactions to the recent strawberry controversy around the idol.

"bro he was just eating and no members complained about it. is life too hard so u need to find someone to talk sh*t abt," said a fan on X

"bffr, how jobless can y'all be," added another netizen

More netizens came in defense of Gunwook and stated that the incident was unnecessarily discussed and criticized.

"What’s wrong with a man that loves to eat?" stated an X user

"please find a life please. All for because he ate strawberries??" commented an X user

"What are we even upset about" added another X user

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All you need to know about ZEROBASEONE and Gunwook's recent activities

Gunwook, or Park Gun-wook, is a 19-year-old K-pop idol who debuted under WAKEONE Entertainment alongside his fellow ZEROBASEONE members in 2023. He serves as the dancer and rapper of the K-pop group and first caught the public's attention through Mnet's reality survival show, Boys Planet.

From the idol's appearance in the first episode, he garnered attention for his powerful dance skills, stage presence, and other performance abilities. The idol ranked fifth in Boys Planet and eventually made his debut in ZEROBASEONE in July 2023. The group debuted with a single, In Bloom, which soon dominated the internet with its refreshing and addictive qualities.

Since their debut, ZEROBASEONE has consistently garnered attention for their impressive skills as a rookie K-pop boy group. Within the first few months of their debut, they broke several strongly-held records. They became the first K-pop group to sell 2 million debut album copies and the fastest K-pop group to surpass 2 million in first-week album sales.

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Additionally, ZEROBASEONE won the Rookie Slam Award, and their debut single, In Bloom, charted on the Billboard Global 200. Most recently, the K-pop boy group released their fourth EP album, Cinema Paradise, on August 26, featuring the title track Good So Bad.