“Just admit NewJeans and you are separated”— Fans react as ADOR announces cancellation of the group’s broadcast schedule amid contract dispute

On January 9, 2025, the HYBE-owned ADOR announced the cancellation of NewJeans’ Light Jeans broadcast schedule via the group’s X account, @NewJeans_ADOR. The cancellation was issued due to "internal and external circumstances," reportedly arising from the ongoing feud between ADOR and NewJeans.

Earlier, on November 28, 2024, the girl group unilaterally declared the termination of their contracts with ADOR through an emergency press conference. ADOR’s latest post about the cancellation of Light Jeans’ broadcast on X stated:

“The Light Jeans content, which was scheduled to be uploaded on Friday, January 10th, at 7:00 PM (KST), has been canceled due to internal and external circumstances. We kindly ask for your understanding.”

The social media post quickly captured the attention of the girl group's admirers, who reacted online to the agency and supported the girls.

“Flopdor, just admit newjeans and you are separated,” one user wrote on X.

Many other reactions to the K-pop group and ADOR were seen online. While some said the agency should have treated the artist well in the beginning, others suggested that its time for ADOR to “retire.”

“That's why you shouldn't mess with Artist in the beginning,” wrote a fan.

“"We kindly ask for your understanding." Time for Ador to retire,” commented another fan.

“Womp Womp, you can’t post content from artists who don’t belong to your shxt company,” stated another X user.

“There is no longer any free content for you. Let's see if you can replace NewJeans in the future, if you can achieve what they generated even just six months after their debut,” wrote another admirer.

Some clarified that the agency wasn’t allowed to use the group’s content anymore, while others advised ADOR to even “close the account” and move on. Several fans were glad to see that the group was finally free.

“Close the account and move on. She's gone buddy,” suggested a fan.

“Let's act we are surprised Jeanz are free finally,” a fan wrote.

“Oh they have finally reached the acceptance stage after a month of being in denial lol,” commented another X user.

“Well they left the company so they cant do activities that was given to them through the company..i’m sure many cancelled activities are about to come,” another fan wrote.

---

More about NewJeans and ADOR's ongoing dispute

The turmoil involving NewJeans and HYBE’s ADOR was publicized in November 2024, after the former voiced discontent with the dismissal of ADOR's former CEO, Min Hee-jin, alleging unfulfilled contractual demands.

On November 28, 2024, the group declared a dissolution of their exclusive contracts with ADOR, which was enacted on November 29. In reaction to the female group's determination to leave, ADOR challenged the termination, claiming that the contracts were legally enforceable until 2029.

Following this, on December 3, 2024, the agency initiated a lawsuit in Seoul Central District Court to establish the contract's legitimacy. ADOR stressed that a unilateral cancellation without adequate reason was not permitted.

However, ADOR controls the intellectual property rights to "NewJeans," and may ban the group from utilizing it if they continue autonomously. The group-agency legal problem is exacerbated by this trademark dispute.

---

Additionally, on December 25, 2024, the K-pop group attended CBS Radio's Kim Hyun-jung's show as guests, marking their first appearance as independent artists.