Can Chuu’s appeal save herself and LOONA?
The battle between Chuu, who was kicked out of the girl group LOONA, and her agency continues. The agency, claiming Chuu was removed from LOONA for power trip and verbally abusing the staff, demanded Chuu provided the proof herself. On the other hand, Chuu said, “I have never done anything shameful.”
Amid the conflict between Chuu and her agency, LOONA is once again falling apart as nine members are rumored of terminating their contracts with their agency. In fact, many are concerned over the possibility of the team disbanding as rumors of a lawsuit for contract termination have spread following the expulsion of Chuu, who is the most popular member of LOONA.
Blockberry Creative, the agency of LOONA, said in an official position on Nov 25th, “We have investigated and confirmed a recent report about Chuu verbally abusing the staff. Due to this, the company’s representative has apologized to the staff and is comforting them, and we also decided to take responsibility and remove Chuu from LOONA.”
In addition, as the debate over Chuu’s departure continued, the agency claimed, “It was just a natural explanation to write down the reason for Chuu’s expulsion,” adding, “If there is anything unfair or any fact that needs to be corrected, the involved parties should reveal it themselves.”
The announcement of Chuu’s departure has left a huge impact as expected. The unusual thing here is how the staff who worked with Chuu and the members of LOONA are rooting for Chu.
First of all, writer A, who worked with Chuu on the web entertainment show “Chuu Can Do It,” said, “It’s so funny that they are claiming Chuu abused her power. Ji Woo was worried that other staff wouldn’t get paid even though she was having a hard time herself.” “Chuu was brighter and warmer than anyone else,” said staff member B, who worked with the idol on an advertisement filming together. “I remember Chuu gave me energy by hugging me warmly every time we had filming,” they said.
LOONA members also defended Chuu. After the announcement of Chuu’s exit, Hyun Jin said through a fan community platform, “My head hurts. My heart hurts too. I’m really angry. Chuu must be the one whose heart hurts more than anyone else. Please support and love her a lot.” The fact that Hyun Jin openly expressed her feelings to fans can be seen that the other members of LOONA feel the same way. The members also came forward to support and protect Chuu.
Chuu announced her position directly through her Instagram on November 28th, 3 days after the agency’s announcement. Chuu said, “Thank you for your concern and comfort. I have not been contacted or known anything about a series of situations, but what’s clear is that I have not done anything embarrassing to my fans.” Chuu saying that she did not do anything embarrassing can be seen as her direct rebuttal of the accusations of “abuse of power” and “violent language towards the staff” made by Blockberry Creative.
At the same time, she comforted her fans, saying, “Thank you so much for worrying about me and trusting me.” In fact, even before Blockberry Creative’s announcement of the removal, Chuu said while sobbing at a fan meeting, “Now, because of things I can’t do anything about, you will be surprised or embarrassed when there are articles about something at the end of the year.” Chuu probably knew about her exit from LOONA already and mentioned it in advance because she worried about the fans.
Eventually, with the announcement of Blockberry Creative and Chuu speaking up, the battle between the two sides is expected to continue for the time being. As Chuu said that she would clear her stance after grasping the situation, she is drawing attention to what kind of response she will issue against her former agency.
However, amid Blockberry Creative and Chuu’s battle, it is unclear whether LOONA will be able to stay the same after this. On November 28th, a media outlet reported that 9 LOONA members, excluding Hyun Jin and Vivi, filed an injunction against Blockberry Creative to suspend the effectiveness of their exclusive contracts.
Although Blockberry Creative stated that this information was “unfounded,” it is undeniable that LOONA is in a situation where how long they will be able to protect the team is uncertain as they have been embroiled in lawsuit rumors following the departure of Chuu, the group’s key member. Attention is now focusing on whether Chuu will be able to smoothly finish the battle with Blockberry Creative and whether more LOONA members will speak up.
Source: OSEN
