Bang Si-hyuk Receives Fan Backlash for Calling Underage ENHYPEN Members “Dark and Sexy” During Debut Era

On October 7, 2024, fans of ENHYPEN voiced their anger after The New Yorker published an article featuring Bang Si-hyuk, the CEO of HYBE, outlining his essential influence in the K-pop industry’s ascent. The article, titled “The K-pop King,”touched on various artists associated with his label, including BTS, TXT, as well as the newer groups ILLIT and KATSEYE.

Nevertheless, controversy erupted due to Bang’s comments regarding ENHYPEN’s debut phase, in which he referred to the group’s aesthetic as “dark and sexy,”while reflecting on their training period.

He mentioned that the members occupied a space that was between public recognition and full-fledged celebrity, comparing their experience to that of vampires. He expressed it as follows:

“There’s something truly dark and sexy about them. They were not part of the public yet not completely celebrities. Being caught between two worlds and belonging to neither reminded me of vampires.”

This commentary prompted outrage from ENHYPEN’s supporters on social media, who deemed Bang’s remarks particularly inappropriate given that Ni-ki was just 13 years old and Heeseung had recently turned 19 at the time. One X user, @secretabandon, tweeted:

“Every piece of information I learn about this man just keeps getting worse.”

“Labeling teenagers as young as 13 as sexy was an odd choice,”commented one fan.

“WTF, THAT’S SO CREEPY,”wrote another user on X.

“The more I read from this article, the more unsettling it becomes… that is just creepy,”another commenter remarked.

“HELLO?? This shouldn’t be hidden from engenes; this is so disgusting—all of them were minors… HYBE is at it again,”one fan expressed.

The remarks particularly incensed fans, as the members of ENHYPEN were still underage during their initial debut.

Supporters found it wholly inappropriate for an adult male to label a group of adolescent boys as “sexy.”

“Wait, weren’t they just kids back then? Eww,”a fan commented.

“CAN ANYONE EXPLAIN WHERE THIS CAME FROM????? IT’S ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING, THE YOUNGEST MEMBER WAS ONLY 13 YEARS OLD,”another user on X noted.

Backlash over Bang Si-hyuk’s recent remarks about ENHYPEN

Elaborating further on the “vampire concept”introduced by Bang, the article noted that in 2020, when ENHYPEN emerged from a reality survival program, the Dark Academia aesthetic was prevalent on platforms like TikTok, a thematic direction that Bang seized for the group’s visual identity.

Under his leadership, HYBE initiated a “story division”focused on crafting fictional narratives to bolster promotional activities, which included a vampire-themed web novel and an EP titled Dark Blood, featuring a track named Bite Me.

Bang emphasized that the fans’ responses to these themes represented a significant milestone, pointing out that they embraced the concept rather than merely seeing it as a commercial endeavor.

This recent incident aligns with a pattern of escalating criticism directed at Bang Si-hyuk, who has been subjected to backlash in the past for various public statements and controversies, including a recent dispute with former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin.

The negative reactions to Bang’s comments regarding ENHYPEN seem to reflect a broader discontent with his management approach, indicating a decline in public sentiment toward the 52-year-old executive.

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