WHAT’S WITH THE HATE?
Sure, every fandom has that one toxic fan that can’t seem to shut up, but some unwarranted hate, however, gets too overboard that it gravely affects not just the artists themselves but also their fans
Behind the façade that Korean idols have to put up for their fans on a daily basis are normal human beings who have feelings and emotions. These artists, most of the time, get undeserved hate thrown to the best of them, courtesy of the fair share of antis that sadly come with the fame and success.
Sure, every fandom has that one toxic fan that can’t seem to shut up, but some unwarranted hate, however, gets too overboard that it gravely affects not just the artists themselves but also their fans.
MooMoos (the official fandom name of MAMAMOO), for one, have had enough witnessing how MAMAMOO and in particular, their member Hwasa, has become the “punching bag of stan Twitter” and mainly the target of constant bullying, harassment, threats and extreme, inhumane hate throughout the group’s career.
MAMAMOO is a powerhouse girl group under Rainbow Bridge World that consists of Solar, Wheein, Moonbyul and Hwasa. The group debuted in 2014 with the single “Mr. Ambiguous.”
Most MooMoos have been taking a mental health break due to the exhausting efforts of trying to defend, explain and protect the girl group from the surge of anti-tweets for the past few years and have recently trended #RESPECTMAMAMOO to shed light on the issue and clap back to the people taking their hatred for the group to an extent.
“All the constant harassing they (MooMoos) see all day is really impacting them,” a fan of the group called out in a long thread on Twitter. “We’re trying not to pay attention to antis but there are so many haters that it’s impossible not to see. We don’t want to engage with antis, we usually don’t.”
Out of sheer frustration, OP (original poster) urged everyone to open their eyes on what has been happening inside the walls of their fandom. The said thread garnered 32,000 retweets and 53,000 likes so far and has gained traction and support from other fandoms.
“Idols aren’t dolls; they are like us, they have feelings, ups and downs like every human being. Seeing the hate can make them feel bad about themselves and get depressed, sometimes worse,” the author of the tweet added and proceeded to ask where some people get the satisfaction of seeing other people getting harassed or hurt.
Another fan said, “It’s so sad that we have to resort to actually begging for other fandoms to realize just how bad it really is for both MAMAMOO and MooMoos, but this is our reality. We only want to love and support our girls in this application, but we can’t do just that because we have to deal with all the hate, the rumors and toxic antis at the same time.”
We’re not gods, so we shouldn’t recklessly insult other people. Everyone has their own unique traits, and we can’t tell other people what to do or how to behave.
And the hate for these women is no joke, really. It even filled up a long article on Medium and on various news sites, chronicling a “fraction” of what the four-member group has to endure every day: death threats, rape jokes, slut-shaming, false rumors and victims of misinformation, even without a reason.
Their official YouTube account had been infiltrated in the past with some of their music videos getting changed to hateful tweets, not to mention negative words next to their names if searched on social media sites, especially Hwasa, who had become the scapegoat of the hateful people within the walls of the stan Twitter community, subjecting her to disgusting memes and “jokes.”
Despite the apologies the girls have made for their past mistakes, antis still use these as their
“guns” to constantly send hate to the group. If the racist issue and death threats aren’t enough, the girls have also faced backlash and criticism on their looks, talents and everything in-between which followed them for years.
But despite all that, MAMAMOO continues to take the high road and to be strong and hardworking women who educate themselves in the process. Solar expressed her thoughts on malicious comments on her YouTube channel. “Honestly, I’ve seen so many hate comments that I (just) pass over them. But seeing people I love and people who love me see these comments and get upset, that’s what makes me angry,” the leader said.
Moonbyul also shared her thoughts on a VLIVE, “To be honest, I really don’t understand malicious commenters. People should only say nice things. You shouldn’t tear other people apart.”
She added, “We’re not gods, so we shouldn’t recklessly insult other people. Everyone has their own unique traits, and we can’t tell other people what to do or how to behave.”
Hwasa also included a strong message for antis in her hit song “María,” the translation of the song saying, “So I swallowed up even the hate. I have no strength to get mad. No time either. What is so upsetting for you? Just go on your way. What’s wrong with everyone?” where she gives a powerful message to herself, putting her raw emotions into the mix.
Besides their unparalleled vocals and jaw-dropping talent, the four-member girl group is known for constantly smashing girl group stereotypes and beauty standards in South Korea, for showing and raising awareness for social issues and support for the LGBTQ+ community — and for being a multitalented group full of beautiful women that doesn’t deserve the extreme hate thrown towards them.