"That's some talent"— Bang Si-hyuk faces fan backlash as IILIT's Wonhee thanks him for facial expression advice

On Monday, October 21, ILLIT's Wonhee thanked Bang Si-hyuk during the group's event. The idol and her fellow group members held an event at the Yes24 Live Hall in Seoul for the release of their latest album, I'LL LIKE YOU. During the event, the members discussed the process behind the album's creation, inspiration, and other significant events that led to its release.

ILLIT's Wonhee spoke about the inspirations behind the album's creation. She added that Bang Si-hyuk gave valuable feedback to the members during the album's production process, especially regarding the interpretation of the songs.

She further claimed that Bang Si-hyuk helped the members with dance moves and facial expressions. According to an article published by Hankyung on October 21, the idol said:

"Si-hyuk-nim gave us detailed advice on how to express this song and the details and facial expressions of the dance. Thanks to this, the song has been completed in abundance."

While many netizens acknowledged his input and role in creating ILLIT's album, some fans claimed that Bang Si-hyuk was allegedly using his artist as a means of promotion.

They also speculated that he might be using them as a shield amidst the controversies that emerged due to the feud between HYBE Labels and ADOR. Many also claimed that the statement contradicted a previous alleged statement.

HYBE had reportedly stated earlier that he has prosopagnosia, a condition that makes facial recognition difficult. Fans took to X to share their reactions to the same:

"Thats some talent to give classes on facial expression while suffering from facial recognition disorder," commented an X user.

"What will they gain," said one fan on X.

"the thankful speech sounds forced. He realizes his reputation is falling, so he’s having his groups praise him to salvage it," said a fan on X.

On the other hand, some fans defended the idol, saying that it was normal for an idol to thank the person who stands as the reason behind their debut.

"Why would this be an issue? She's thanking the person who let them pursue their dreams," said a fan on X.

"I mean ofc she would thank him. She wouldnt be debuting if not for him," commented a netizen.

"So newjeans can thank Minheejin but illit can't thank bang pd?" added another netizen.

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HYBE allegedly claimed that Bang Si-hyuk had facial recognition disorder in response to failing to greet a NewJeans member

In May 2024, the parent of a NewJeans member shared their concerns about Bang Si-hyuk with the Korean news outlet Ilgan Sports during an interview. In the interview, the parent claimed that Bang Si-hyuk often ignored the NewJeans members.

The parent told Ilgan Sports:

"Whenever the NewJeans members encountered Bang Si Hyuk in the company building, we wondered why Bang Si Hyuk would pretend not to recognize the members and turn a blind eye to their greetings. At first, we didn’t believe our children, thinking, ‘Oh, he probably just didn’t recognize you then,’ so we attempted to verify this."

The parent continued,

"However, since this issue has happened several times, with different dates and locations, even when it was just Bang Si Hyuk and the members, we believe there is no other possibility except recognizing that they are, in fact, NewJeans."

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According to the parent, HYBE claimed that Bang Si-hyuk has face-blindness, and therefore, the situation was a misunderstanding. However, netizens questioned the legitimacy of this reasoning.