“People should be treated as people” — Danielle speaks on the current idol industry, voices concern for young trainees amidst ongoing ADOR dispute 

On March 16, 2025, Danielle, a member of the K-pop group NJZ (formerly NewJeans under ADOR), opened up about the challenges she faced during her trainee days. During an Instagram livestream, she shared personal anecdotes about the strict diet rules imposed during her training period.

She recalled that all trainees would have to take pictures of everything they ate and send them to their manager for approval.

"You had to leave a message before you were able to go to the toilet, and this was even in free time. You were constantly being watched over when you were in the practice room, so you didn't have much freedom at all. I remember having to take pictures of what I ate, before I was actually able to consume it. I had to send pictures to our manager and she would have to check it.”

Danielle also emphasized the importance of treating artists as human beings. She mentioned young people enrolling in the K-pop trainee program with a dream of debuting as an artist one day. The NewJeans member said that she is speaking up on behalf of every trainee so that they wouldn't have to undergo such a harsh regime.

She further stressed that everyone should be treated equally and as humans.

"What if they don’t have the voice, the support that they need and deserve? (…) On behalf of those trainees and young artists out there who don’t have the voice to speak out, please, people should be treated as people. Every individual deserves respect and dignity.”

---

NewJeans aka NJZ's ongoing legal battle with ADOR

The backdrop to Danielle's statement is NJZ's ongoing legal conflict with ADOR. On November 28, 2024, Teen Vogue reported that the group announced their departure from the label, citing breaches of contract and unfair treatment.

On December 3, the HYBE subsidiary sought legal intervention to verify the validity of its contract with NewJeans (NJZ). As reported by BBC, the label later filed an injunction against the group in January 2025 to prevent the group from engaging in independent activities.

The injunction's first court hearing was held on March 7, 2025. As reported by The Express Tribune, NJZ repeated their claims of alleged workplace harassment in HYBE.

However, it is important to note that, according to The Korea Herald's report from November 24, 2024, the workplace harassment by NJZ's Hanni allegation was already dismissed by the Ministry of Employment and Labor.

Furthermore, on March 7, the group demanded that Min Hee-jin be reinstated as ADOR's CEO. However, the court had already blocked Min Hee-jin from becoming the label's CEO again in November 2024. A few days later, on November 20, Min Hee-jin resigned as ADOR's internal director and from HYBE too.

For the unversed, she was fired in August 2024 by the label's independent board members due to a breach of contract.

During the hearing, NJZ also claimed that HYBE allegedly gave better treatment to LE SSERAFIM (under Source Music). The group repeated Min Hee-jin's allegations from April 2024 that HYBE downplayed them and debuted LE SSERAFIM as "HYBE's first girl group."

They also alleged that HYBE made LE SSERAFIM Louis Vuitton's global ambassador after NJZ's Hyein was appointed as the brand's face.

In response, Source Music issued an official statement on March 7, refuting claims of "favoritism."

"LE SSERAFIM has never received preferential treatment or made unfair gains in the process of being selected as an ambassador for a particular brand. "

After hearing arguments from NJZ and ADOR on March 7, 2025, the court ordered the girl group to reorganize and resubmit valid reasons for terminating their contract with ADOR by March 14.

As reported by ET Brand Equity, the 50th Civil Agreement Division of the Seoul Central District Court ordered NJZ to provide more concrete evidence to support their allegations against the label.

---

On March 14, 2025, Chosun Biz reported that the second court hearing for NJZ vs. ADOR at the 50th Civil Agreement Division was supposed to be held to conclude the injunction verdict. the company's lawsuit against NJZ will have its first hearing on April 3, 2025.

Meanwhile, no official source or media outlet has reported on the second injection hearing so far.