Recently, K-pop fans have been buzzing with excitement over the new “national husband” phenomenon—Mingyu of SEVENTEEN. The rapper from the million-selling boy group has everything that “women love.” He boasts stunning visuals, a towering height of 1.87 meters, and a perfect six-pack body that has left fans captivated. Along with Jungkook and Cha Eun Woo, Mingyu is part of the hottest K-pop trio from the 97 line.
Widely known for his title as a heartthrob, Mingyu is in high demand for advertisements and frequently appears in top fashion campaigns. However, along with his skyrocketing fame comes countless baseless scandals. Recently, SEVENTEEN fans have been increasingly worried as Mingyu has been caught up in sensitive controversies.
Caught in pornographic deepfake and fake rumors
“The great crisis” of male idols: Unjustly named in sexual chat rooms, all because of “one bad apple”
Currently, South Korea is facing a serious issue with “sexual chat rooms,” where many groups spread explicit deepfake videos, with nearly 2,000 victims. Many celebrities have had their faces edited into these deepfake videos, causing great concern among fans. Entertainment companies such as YG, JYP, and CUBE have quickly stepped in, issuing statements to protect their artists. Among male idols, Mingyu has been the subject of the most widely circulated deepfake videos.
On top of that, Mingyu’s name has been falsely included in lists that supposedly track celebrities involved in sexual chat rooms. Along with many other male artists, Mingyu has suffered from a baseless “witch hunt” by a portion of misguided netizens, who have been misled into believing false information. Many accounts, chasing “fake interactions,” have spread false rumors, causing stars, especially Mingyu, to endure unwarranted suspicion.
Secretly photographed by a staff member, leaked sensitive photos
Mingyu’s troubles didn’t stop there. Recently, a staff member from a brand he was collaborating with secretly took photos of him. Specifically, the SEVENTEEN star was filming a body wash commercial, revealing his upper body. A staff member from the brand’s team secretly took photos of shirtless Mingyu behind the scenes.
Notably, this person posted the photos on social media with the caption: “Mingyu takes up a significant portion of my photo album… I used to be eager to delete them, but now it’s time to sort through them.”
This post immediately sparked outrage from SEVENTEEN fans. This was not the first time the same account had taken advantage of collaborations with artists to leak behind-the-scenes photos. The person had previously secretly photographed BTS’s Jin, causing controversy over their unprofessional behavior.
The leaked sensitive photos of Mingyu quickly spread across social media. Fans are deeply concerned about the serious invasion of the idol’s privacy. Additionally, the deepfake issue remains unresolved. Amid the backlash, the brand Mingyu was working with issued an apology and promised to address the issue. However, fans remain uneasy and continue to demand that his management company, Pledis, take action to protect their artist.
Source: k14
