The Boyz "Controversy"-can we please stop being delusional they are grown men!

Listen, I love The Boyz so much. Last year and this year have been so overwhelming for them that it makes me dizzy just thinking about it. They are so talented and deserve far more recognition. I’m writing this because, as a loyal fan, I have a lot of opinions about everything that came out yesterday. It was truly a day to remember for Deobis, because bombs were dropped left and right. I want to address everything from both a PR standpoint and as a fan and use this moment to explore the darker side of parasocial relationships.

Let’s Talk Parasocialism First

To start this blog, I need to emphasize how fundamental parasocial relationships are to the K-pop industry. K-pop thrives on building these emotional bonds between idols and fans. This dynamic keeps fans loyal and constantly engaged. Companies know this and actively encourage it to ensure continued support and, say it with me, spending.

Now, I do believe many idols genuinely enjoy interacting with fans. However, as fans, it is our jobs to not let that get out of control. We do not know these men. We will not marry these men. These men do not owe us their lives.

What’s happening with The Boyz right now is a perfect example of parasocial relationships getting out of control. Instead of attacking them, maybe this is our opportunity to reset. Maybe it’s time to take a step back and confront our own behavior as fans. This shouldn’t be about criticizing the group, it should be about criticizing the industry that allows this cycle to repeat itself over and over.

Some Context…

The Boyz are an 11-member group that debuted on December 6, 2017. Known for their catchy music and jaw-dropping performances, they’ve been around for a while, but haven’t seen the global popularity they deserve. I blame this on poor international marketing and press. However, their popularity in Korea is undeniable.

They’ve been dealt some pretty tough cards lately, and I was hopeful that things would start to change. But this past year has shown that the challenges keep piling on.

The Struggles Leading Up to Yesterday

Let us touch on some of the shit they have gone through prior to the news yesterday.

One of the biggest things was their decision to move companies. Last year, it was announced that The Boyz were terminating their contract with IST Entertainment. This news left Deobis anxious and unsure of the group’s future. Thankfully, the members reassured us that they were looking for a company that would take them all, so they could stay together. That is huge. It's almost unheard of for an entire group to transfer companies as a unit. But they were determined, and they succeeded. They signed with One Hundred and managed to keep their group name and rights to all their old songs and videos. That feat alone showed how loyal they are, to each other and to us. It was tough, but in the end, it paid off.

But that wasn’t the only thing they’ve faced.

One incident that ties directly into today’s discussion involved Sunwoo and a sasaeng. He was returning to his apartment late one night when a so-called “fan” appeared from the stairwell and approached him. She got physical. Sunwoo stayed calm and called for security, who detained the person. He went to the emergency room, then still attended schedules the next day. This is the dark side of parasocialism. That’s terrifying. Still, Sunwoo showed appreciation for his real fans immediately after. He didn’t recoil or blame us.

then after this Sunwoo was a part of mass hate after a video of him was taken out of context. It was a quick video of him dropping his air pod on the ground and allegedly yelling at a guard to pick it up. To me this incident is a prime example of mistranslation and misjudging. I poured over this video so much and looked at both sides of the story. I looked up translations and translated myself. In the video Sunwoo is running he does not notice when his air pod falls out at first and has already passed it a good distance when it is noticed. One of the guards had already noticed and went to pick it up. When Sunwoo realizes it dropped he turns around to see the guard already bending down to pick it up, he does indeed yell, "My air pod." He does not make an attempt to go get it but again the guard had already gone to pick it up. He did tell the guard thank you and that was that. Although I do see how this could cause a mix up because he did yell and he did not attempt to pick it up. I still think this was a ridiculous thing to spread hate on.

He did issue an apology, which I do think could have been better handled, but again it was ridiculous anyways.

Then not even a month later, Kevin got hate for cheering for the opposing team at a baseball game. He had thrown the first pitch for Kiwoom Heroes but later was seen cheering for the other side. People went off. First of all, Kevin doesn’t even follow sports like that and since when is good sportsmanship a crime? It felt like hate for the sake of hate.

All in One Day: Deobis Can’t Catch a Break

Now let's get into the "controversy" that started yesterday.

All of a sudden twitter blew up with videos and allegations from different sources airing out information on The Boyz.

Starting with videos of members smoking. The members in the video were Juyeon, Sunwoo and Eric. Now mind you smoking is a common thing in Korea and it has come out that sooooo many idols smoke. However, it is still a huge source of hate and controversy if group members are found smoking. So, when three members were caught smoking people were up in arms. I know this doesn't seem like the biggest deal, but this is something that has caused plenty of other groups a lot of trouble.

It makes me upset that it was so easy for fans to get these videos because, one it is blatantly invading their privacy and two why wasn't staff being more careful about this. Security was left slacking, and yes it should not be this big of a deal, but sadly it is. I mean in all reality they are grown men and although I don't condone smoking, they can do whatever they want with their bodies. We should not be canceling them or hating on them because they are smoking, we have no right. They can do whatever they want to do.

The next allegation to surface was dating rumors about Juyeon and two different women. Now poor Juyeon was going through it yesterday because a majority of the "controversy" was centered around him. There was a video of him getting in the car with a girl however I find a lot of things fishy about this. One yet again how was someone allowed to be that close and recording him. Two he was seemingly wearing the same outfit from the smoking video. So, was someone just stalking him all day? Two there is no real proof of who this woman is or why she was in the car. Three I don't believe she was from either of the dating scandals that surfaced, so how are those relevant? Like the pieces aren't adding up. Was he at a club beforehand? was he out eating with this girl beforehand? was she also an Idol because maybe they had the same schedule. I just feel like we are jumping to conclusions without proper evidence. Also, I would like to state that the video did seem odd to me when I watched it and AI is a big thing right now. Once again, if this video was even real, where was security? Nobody should have been allowed that close and in his personal space!

Now I am not saying that he is dating someone, or she was a girl he was taking home, but even if she was WHO CARES! He is a grown man and creating a narrative that these men do not desire relationships or intimacy is delusional. They are grown-ups they have their own personal lives and just because they are idols does not mean they should be denied the right to live their lives. It always aggravates me to no end! Stand up and touch some grass because why are these people getting so upset about this? did they think they would have a chance with them?

The Plot Thickens

Sorry, I got heated, moving on to the last big "scandal" that was released.

Sangyeon and Hyunjae were allegedly at a house party with girls and other male Idols. Now this one is very fishy to me and let me explain. One the pictures were a little suspicious you could barely tell the faces of the men in there and with AI so prevalent now can you really ever be sure of anything? Second, I feel like at a party like this NDA's would have been signed especially if that many male Idols were there at an intimate party with women, they would have covered their bases. Next a lot of the information is fuzzy some claim Sangyeon put on the party and invited these girls, some say the girls showed up at the party later on and others say TBZ members came with friends. Already a bunch of red flags that can easily be picked apart. Next these girls also were claimed to have been employees of entertainment companies so I feel like them taking pictures and exposing this would be against so many different rules and could even cost them their jobs. Also, the way that these girls threw so many big names under the bus all at once is fishy. Saying Mingi from Ateez was there but lied about his profession, saying he claimed he was a "skincare salesperson." Be so for real then claiming Eunwoo was there. Not naming the members but saying Stray Kids and Enhypen members were there. It just does not make sense to me honestly there are too many holes in this story. Too many perfect coincidences too.

Honestly a lot of these "scandals" that came out feel a little too planted to me and I don't know if I am a conspiracist for saying this, but I wouldn't put it past another company to plant all this. Like it is all just too perfect that all of this came out in the same week and that so many of the stories were just said without any question. First off, we shouldn't even care about any of this. These things should not cancel a group but since they can really harm a groups image it is a big deal. That is why I won't just brush it off and will look at it for what it is worth. A scandal created to discredit a group that is a threat. I think there is some truth, but most of it just feels too fabricated, and it raises to many questions with no answers. I am tired of all this hate TBZ are getting and it just feels like a hate train for no reason. People need to get a life honestly and leave these grown men alone.

What One Hundred Should (and Shouldn’t) Do

For starters up TBZ security because this invasion of privacy never should have happened. clearly after Sunwoo's incident TBZ are no strangers to stalkers and threats from fans. Are we just not taking that seriously? They need more security and management paying attention to what can damage their image. I think this boils down to it being a new company and TBZ yet again being underestimated. One Hundred should never let this mistake happen again.

I also think their reaction only fueled the fire for fans. As soon as everything came out One Hundred made a statement saying they were planning to file lawsuits against anyone who posted and aided in spreading the false and distorted information. Obviously from this they denied all allegations, claiming they were falsified. At the end they asked that all evidence be sent to their email so they can use it as evidence for their case. Fans were not happy with this response asking for them to say what claims were fake. Telling the members to speak out and so on. I wish One Hundred would have made a clearer statement because I think this just created more uncertainty. I feel like their statement tried to claim the falsity of it, but the language only created more confusion.

I don't disagree with everything they did though, I do think keeping the members out of this is best. If they were to come out and apologize right now, one it would look like they were guilty of something. Two, I think it would just be a lot of hate in response. They need to get more information and let things calm down a bit more. Like I said there are enough holes in all of this, I do think a lot of this is fake, but they need to have a better understanding of the situation first. Also, this has happened to so many groups and usually when they lay low it blows over. I think One Hundred needs to just focus on keeping TBZ safe and building up a proper case. Down the line maybe have the members involved release apologies (not because they need to apologize but because sadly crazy fans do exist and need to be placated). I think the main goal should be to disprove the dating and house party allegations. The smoking one will blow over that is the least of their worries honestly.

Bottom line TBZ have been through so much recently and I think this just continues to prove how strong of a group they are. I will continue to support them and stick by them, but this is definitely unfortunate. I know they are stronger than this and will make it, I just want them to know they are still loved. I hope that fandom culture can ease up and that the parasocialism becomes less toxic. These are real people, and they deserve to live their own lives and have fun. Although I don't believe all of these allegations, I think it spotlights a bigger issue with the industry as a whole.