With the support of fans, the police have arrested the harasser and are pursuing legal actions.
Recently, issues of artist security at foreign countries have become important issues, as more and more artists are being harassed upon coming into another country to perform. The unfortunate situation this time is ATEEZ.
ATEEZ lately was present in Saudi Arabia to do performances under the concert framework of “KCON 2022” along other representatives, namely NewJeans, Hyolyn, ONEUS, STAYC and TO1. This concert aimed to be an annual event to celebrate Korean popular cultural values and entertainment with the appearance of artists and idols. According to the uploaded schedule, the group under KQ Entertainment was to perform on the second event day (October 1st) and members were to land on King International Airport a day before that.
While this was the first KCON to be held in Saudi Arabia, ATEEZ visited the country before in June for another concert. As any other foreign visitors, the group entered through the main gate at the welcome of fans. Much as ATINYs tried to keep their distance to ensure safety of the members, many individuals still found ways to push and approach the idols. The present security forces were of little use against such a crowd.
Amidst the mayhem, an unknown man got too close to the group and started pouring curses and racist remarks. He went further and recorded the video and uploaded it online. At the face of the situation, ATINYs around the world banded together and reported his Tweet along with his account. According to Saudi Arabia news, on the 2nd, the man was caught by the police with the help of the fandom.
Representative of the police department released a statement: “The arrested citizen appeared in a video clip on social media, calling the band with phrases that would prejudice public morals during the arrival of a specialized band at the airport to participate in an event in Riyadh”.
The police added they would pursue legal actions and the case would be prosecuted. Notably, this was not an unprecedented event as fans have multiple times expressed their concerns regarding the provision of security for the group at the airport during their overseas stays. Fans are calling more urgent actions from their management company and robust measures.
Source: Billboard
