LE SSERAFIM Sakura gets disastrously low screen time, fans start to boycott

LE SSERAFIM, who celebrate their 1-year anniversary on May 2nd, released their new album, “Unforgiven”, and the MV for the title of the same name, on May 1st. The high-budget production has drawn attention in the K-pop community, but controversy continues to surround the group.

In particular, LE SSERAFIM previously faced plagiarism accusations for having similar style and concepts with singer Rosalía. Then, upon the release of the “Unforgiven” MV, the lack of screen time for LE SSERAFIM member Sakura has greatly angered fans. 

Sakura, who participated in “Produce 48” and gained huge attention in Korea, already has a large fanbase in Japan, and has established a huge standing in China. She also attracted fans as a former member of IZ*ONE, and thus, has been immensely popular since the very beginning of LE SSERAFIM. As a result, her fans expect Sakura’s fame to flourish after debut, and express frustration when the female idol barely gets any spotlight under LE SSERAFIM. 

In the “Unforgiven” MV, which lasts for over 4 minutes, Sakura has the least screen time, as well as the least singing line. In fact, Sakura even appeared less than a horse in the MV, angering her fans, who feel she is not being treated fairly.

On top of this, Sakura is considered to be the main driving force behind the group’s revenue due to her strong fanbase, which has been supportive since 2018.

The issue of favoritism and Sakura’s poor screen time has become a hot topic in China, with the topic trending on social media. Here, Chinese fans seem to believe that member Kazuha is being favored by HYBE and Source Music, receiving the most impressive scenes in the MV and having the most elaborate styling. In terms of singing and rapping lines, Kazuha ranks second in the group, just after Huh Yunjin, with approximately 30 seconds.

The first-day sales of LE SSERAFIM’s album reached 100,000 copies, while pre-orders exceeded 1 million. It is known that Sakura’s Chinese fan union alone has contributed over 300,000 copies to such a number.

However, Sakura’s fans cannot accept the fact that the most popular member is being mistreated by her own company. Following the controversy over Sakura’s screen time, Chinese fan bases have petitioned the management company and announced they will stop buying the album in support. Large fan pages have also stopped updating about “Unforgiven”, boycotting the comeback altogether to show their frustration.

Source: k14