“No change in sight”- NewJeans’ Danielle hit with fan backlash over alleged Phoning emoji update following BTS’ Jungkook’s reported support post

On September 14, 2024, NewJeans member Danielle faced a wave of fan backlash after her alleged response to BTS’ Jungkook’s subtle show of support during the ongoing controversy between HYBE, Min Hee-jin, and NewJeans. The issue escalated after fans noticed Danielle’s emoji update on the app Phoning, following a post made by the BTS member.

In her post, she used the same heart emojis but also added a blue hat emoji, which is now widely recognized as a reference to Min Hee-jin. This move was interpreted by some fans as ignoring or downplaying Jungkook’s support, with criticism directed at Danielle for not acknowledging his message.

Fans expressed disappointment, accusing Danielle of being ungrateful and fanning the flames of the feud instead of appreciating the show of solidarity from the BTS member. This incident has reignited the ongoing debate surrounding the conflict between HYBE, Min Hee-jin, and the NewJeans members, with no clear resolution in sight. A user on X, @GhalibAlam19 wrote:

"No change In sight."

"shouldn't she be grateful that the main pop boy showed his solidarity w her group?? this is absurdly disrespectful towards jungkook's statement wth," a netizen wrote.

"I have to keep reminding myself that they're grooming victims because this just keeps getting WORSE AND WORSE," another person commented.

"Honestly, I feel like Danielle highly disrespected Jungkook’s statement of support with this," an X user mentioned.

"I love Danielle , but what she does is a little childish. They literally don't know their interest. I literally see they were brainwashed they don't deserve what JUNGKOOK did," a user mentioned.

Online users also expressed that the BTS member showed his support for NewJeans to protect the young members from internal company conflicts, as he joined the label at a young age and could empathize with their situation.

"And what he gets it’s she mocking him. Jungkook is too kind, they don’t deserved him," a netizen wrote.

"thank you danielle for reassuring us that you all are not worth supporting," a netizen remarked.

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BTS' Jungkook reportedly showed subtle support for NewJeans through his dog's Instagram account

For the uninitiated, Jungkook stirred the online community when he reportedly posted an image on his dog Bam's Instagram account (@bowwow_bam) featuring five hearts in colors, representing NewJeans members – Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin, and Hyein – in the style of Powerpuff Girls.

Along with the hearts, he included a flexing biceps emoji, symbolizing strength, and captioned it with the message:

"Artists are not guilty."

This move was interpreted by many netizens as a subtle gesture of support for NewJeans amid the dispute. The controversy stems from the fallout surrounding Min Hee-jin, ADOR’s former CEO, and her removal from her position.

Earlier, Hanni of NewJeans had also made a post that used a similar color scheme, adding a rabbit emoji to represent the group's fanbase, known as Tokkis or Bunnies, and a blue cap emoji, which fans interpreted as a symbol for Min Hee-jin, referencing her appearance wearing a blue hat.

The Still With You singer's post, which followed this, led many to believe he was standing behind the NewJeans members in their support for Min Hee-jin. Fans praised him for taking such a stance.

However, some speculated whether Jungkook's post was intentional or if his account had been compromised due to the unusual use of his dog's Instagram and English captions, something the idol rarely does.

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His label, BIGHIT Music later confirmed that the post was indeed Jungkook's and that there was no hacking involved.