Celebs and idols shouldn’t be bullied, yes. But criticism does not automatically equate to bullying

By: Gelene Peñalosa - 9 months ago

Celebrities and idols really do have it rough every single day—handling criticisms, being held to some of the most unrealistic standards set by society and the industry, and facing unsubstantiated rumors on a daily basis. Imagine just living your best life, performing your latest songs or whatnot, then come nighttime and you’re dead scrolling on social media, you suddenly see a whole lot of people calling you different names, derogatory adjectives, and the like.

And for what, just being a human that makes mistakes? It’s surprising how these idols still have the stomach to perform despite all the negativity they receive on a daily basis, and how others still want to be one.

However, at the same time, idols are indeed meant to uphold a standard in the industry. Globally, K-Pop idols are known for having a grueling system of training prior to debuting, where they are given dance, vocal, variety, language, and more lessons to prepare for idol life.

This brings us to the question, when it comes to asking idols to improve a bit more on their skills expected of them, does it immediately count as bullying or hate?

Just recently, LE SSERAFIM (especially members Sakura and Eunchae) faced an immense backlash on the Internet following their encore stage on a music show, where some of the members were singing off-key and looking nervous while doing so. Considering that this was a group that gained popularity and traction due to their performance and music, a lot of K-Pop fans were shocked to hear their dismaying encore performance—without the choreography.

This began a discussion on the state of the K-Pop industry at the moment—where nowadays people become idols mainly because of their visuals over training and honing their singing and dancing, when they are supposed to be great singers AND dancers.

They were also saying that telling idols to improve and train harder does not equate to bullying almost immediately, because it’s (quite literally) their job to do so.

https://twitter.com/w00kbun/status/1763484657905963122?s=20

At the same time, FEARNOTS were quick to come to LE SSERAFIM’s defense, saying that the criticisms that the girl group was receiving was too vile. Others mentioned how people were so quick to nitpick a group’s mistakes so quickly and selectively.

In relation to the discourse, a popular TikToker (@/bertubble) sort of fueled the fire by saying that it doesn’t matter if a K-Pop idol has “mediocre” vocals and that it is enough for him that they sell the “fantasy” of being a K-Pop idol. He had even pointed out Dara from 2NE1 as an example, which triggered a lot of people.

https://twitter.com/biasauurus/status/1764131162782388426?s=20

Not a lot of people agreed with his hot take, immediately questioning whether or not people still tune in to K-Pop for the music. Some also pointed out that an idol should at least know how to sing, as it is their job.

https://twitter.com/bbhdotin/status/1764271804196258180?s=20

In this context, where should we draw the line between rightfully criticizing idols and bullying? Were K-Pop fans right in saying that LE SSERAFIM needs to head back into the practice room to improve on their vocals, or were those comments already borderline bullying?

Are the fans of K-Pop idols too sensitive and immediately come to the defense of their favorites at just the first sign of criticism (regardless if they were constructive or not), or are they right for doing so?

It’s quite difficult to distinguish to say the least, but at the same time, it isn’t. Safe to say, most K-Pop stans could be called as snowflakes at this point; and they’re not the ones at the receiving end of the criticisms they’re seeing.

At the same time, just holding your favorite K-pop idols to standards that are below them in an attempt to shield them from criticism doesn’t make them better. It, in fact, just boxes them into remaining at the level that they currently are and doesn’t give them the motivation to improve.

And that one idol already had years of experience, so what is stopping her from continuously wanting to improve her skills?

Sure, idols and celebrities do have it tough with all the criticism they get. But, some of those criticisms may even be warranted because of how they’re performing.

K-Pop as an entire genre is known for its intertwining of concept, vocal, choreography, visuals, and music production. It’s what sets this genre apart from all the others, including the West. If we can’t hold these idols accountable to the standard they should be upholding, then do we really support their careers?

 

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