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On Friday, February 2, an anonymous netizen posted a snippet of their video fan call with ZEROBASEONE's Kim Jiwoong. The clip showcased the idol waving goodbye to the person on the other end of the call, and as soon as the screen went black, the idol could allegedly be heard saying the swear word "fuck" or "shibal" in Korean.
The netizen wanted to share the video with the internet and get their opinion, as the OP thought it was inappropriate and disrespectful of the idol. While criticism swarmed in for the idol's use of language, fans soon came to defend Kim Jiwoong, stating that the netizen's post was schemed to bring him down.
The legitimacy of the video stands unclear, and there's no proof of the idol saying the curse word, leading fans to believe that the netizen's post must be fabricated or AI-generated.
Regardless, fans also pointed out that the idol looked uncomfortable during the fan call and therefore called out the netizen for posting only a snippet of the video fan call since the OP might've been the reason behind him swearing.
Fans defend ZEROBASEONE's Kim Jiwoong as an alleged video fan call of him swearing lands on the internet
Kim Jiwoong, a member of the recently debuted nine-piece K-pop boy group ZEROBASEONE, formed through the reality survival show Boys Planet, has increasingly garnered attention over the several years of his career in the industry. Before his debut in ZEROBASEONE, the idol was not only active as a K-pop idol in other groups such as INX but also participated as an actor in the BL genre, thereby stabilizing a massive fandom for himself.
However, there have also been instances where the idol fell victim to hate comments. One such incident kickstarted during Jiwoong's recent video fan call. An anonymous netizen took to X to post about her recent fan call with the idol, only showcasing a few seconds after their call. After they bid farewell, the screen went black, but the idol could still be heard saying a curse word.
The caption read,
"Do you usually say fuck after talking to fans? I’m not sure so I’m asking other Zerozes’ thoughts."
Fan calls involving multiple K-pop idols often have the camera covered with an external object, and the audio is muted when the phone is passed from one idol to another. Therefore, Jiwoong's swearing might've been caught in the gap when the camera was covered, but the audio was still unmuted.
When the netizen posted the snippet with a caption calling out the idol's alleged inappropriate behavior, several netizens criticized him.
However, as fans continued to debate over the legitimacy of the video, WAKEONE Entertainment released a statement declaring that Jiwoong didn't curse after the fan call and that the video was most likely created with malicious intent. They also stated they'll take legal action against those who tried to damage the idol's public image.
"It's not true. In order to confirm this from an accurate and objective standpoint, we will use various methods such as digital media forensics to clearly determine the facts and protect our artist."
Additionally, fans have also been criticizing and calling out the netizens who've been participating in directing hate toward the idol based on an untrue event.
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