K-pop star Hongbin (홍빈) from VIXX has found himself in hot water, thanks to his recent live broadcast session.
Fans noted that during the session, the 27-year-old made several disrespectful and blunt remarks towards other K-pop groups; namely SHINee, Infinite, EXO and also Red Velvet while in a drunken state.
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Hongbin started off by commenting on SHINee’s “Everybody”, slamming the 2013 song as being “too lousy”. He then proceeded to give his two cents on Infinite’s “Be Mine” choreography. “Frankly speaking, I would’ve beaten the choreographer for that routine. What is that? It’s a cool song. Why would you come up with that kind of dance to such a cool part?” Hongbin said in the clip.
The Seoul-born performer then talked about EXO. According to him, “SM (Entertainment) teaches them everything from every gesture to every move. There will be someone in charge of that and they break down each person.” He then boasted on how his group VIXX produces everything by themselves.
In regards to the 8-piece group’s chart-topping hit “Wolf”, Hongbin commented, “I’ve always been a vampire and those people (EXO) were wolves. It’s funny because vampires always win. In history, people who remain are the ones who win. In the modern day, when comparing who will win between the vampires (VIXX) and the wolves (EXO), I think it’ll be the former. Try and keep up with us. It’s sad to see that no one from the latter can keep with our pace.”
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Additionally, the “Moorim School” star criticised Red Velvet’s hit single “Red Flavour” as “too idol-like and strong”. He further asked, “Are there anybody who are familiar with the term ‘mass appeal’?” Hongbin was even shown flipping the bird during his live stream, much to everyone’s surprise.
A number of K-pop fans soon took to Twitter to express their frustration towards him. As a result, Hongbin became a trending topic on social media. Hongbin held another live broadcast a few hours after that in response to the massive backlash.
In this case, he claimed that he wanted to show everyone a different side of him during the session, which failed miserably. Not only that, Hongbin was also advised to make his exit from his group as a result of the controversy caused by him.
Hongbin’s agency, Jellyfish Entertainment has since released an official statement to address the recent drama involving their artiste. The statement reads:
“Hello. This is Jellyfish Entertainment.
Our artist, Lee Hongbin has caused great pain and concern to other artistes and their fans with the words and behaviour showed during his personal live broadcast. We bow our heads in apology.
We also sincerely apologise to the fans who support VIXX and Hongbin. We feel responsible for our artist’s words and actions and are reflecting on ourselves. We will pay closer attention to the management of our artists so that this kind of issue does not arise again.
Once again, we apologise for causing concern. Thank you.”
Hongbin also took to his Instagram to plead for forgiveness to those who were affected by his recent action. His statement was translated as follows:
“Hello. This is Lee Hongbin.
I sincerely apologise to the artists and the fans of those artists who were hurt by my improper words and actions from my previous late-night live broadcast.
I also apologise to my fellow members and fans for causing them to worry. There is no room for excuse. No matter what reason it was for, I am deeply reflecting on my action.
I once again bow my head in apology to those who were disappointed by me. I will take care to ensure that something like this does not happen again, and I will reflect on myself. I am truly sorry.”
Will you let Hongbin’s mistake slip this time?
Source: Jazmine Media.
