Representatives for rookie K-pop girl-group BLACKSWAN have denied rumours of conflicts between members Leia and Fatou.
Representatives for K-pop girl-group BLACKSWAN have denied rumours of conflicts between members Leia and Fatou in a new statement.
The statement comes days after member Fatou was accused of bullying Leia, based on screenshots of an exchange between an alleged source close to Leia and a fan community. Soon after, Fatou released a statement categorically denying all accusations, which was later deleted.
Now, in a new statement (translated through Soompi), DR Music has released a statement, which claims that due to cultural differences – BLACKSWAN is the only group in K-pop to have members from Europe and Latin America – there needs to be greater ‘mutual respect and understanding’.
The statement claims that issues within the team were ‘distorted’ by others and ‘spread to fans as if they were true.’
“When people from diverse backgrounds work together, there can be various clashes and differences of opinion. However, a constructive argument between members about the better completion of their work should not be provocatively framed as bullying and sow further discord within our team.” the statement read.
Claiming that Leia and Fatou’s ‘friendship has not changed’, the company also urged fans to stop racist attacks against the members, saying that ‘criticism regarding a certain race or nationality undermines our positive intentions in forming a global girl group.’
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“It is not desirable for us to stand divided and criticize each other. We earnestly request that those who are attacking the members, their families, and other fans, as well as making racist verbal attacks and actions, put a stop to their behavior.” the statement read.
Shortly after the bullying accusations surfaced, member Fatou took to social media to claim that Leia was a gaslighter, manipulative, and a ‘giant headache to everyone in the company.’ The statement was later taken down.
“The biggest problem is she always, every single second of the day, thinks only about herself. This is a group. She’s not a solo artist without any consideration about the people around her. She does whatever she wants without ever thinking about other people. Everyone has to run around her. Everyone has to match to her beat. Everyone has to only think about her. Why? Because in her mind, she should always be the main focus in everything.” she said at the time.
You can read more about this topic over at the Asia Pop Observer.
