On February 29, a video regarding how SM Entertainment treated aespa’s Ningning at the recent Versace event was published on a Chinese SNS platform, gaining massive attention. According to this video, Ningning’s activities at the event were largely restricted by her own agency, SM Entertainment.
In particular, all celebrities that attended the Versace event were arranged to take photos with the luxury brand’s VIP guests, but Ningning, despite being a prized ambassador, was excluded. Regarding this, fans at the scene alleged that they saw Ningning being scolded by SM staff, who claimed that the female idol needed to return to Korean immediately, and so had to leave the event.
Additionally, fans claimed that staff members of Versace were unaware and shocked, and could not intervene with SM’s decision.
As a result of SM’s actions, Versace ended up not posting Ningning on their official Weibo (a Chinese SNS platform) account, it was also stated.
These “witness accounts” and allegations have raised concerns among fans, who are now expressing their frustrations about how Ningning is practically sabotaged by SM.
The situation has also spread outside of China, as international fans are airing their dissatisfaction on SNS platform X (formerly Twitter), and leaving comments such as “SM is going to destroy Ningning’s entire career at this point”.
Meanwhile, SM Entertainment has not responded to these allegations.
Source: X, Krb
