Entertainment label SM Entertainment is under fire after fans of K-Pop band aespa accused the agency of mistreating aespa’s leader Karina.Ever since their debut in November 2020, aespa has firmly established itself as one of the most exciting groups in South Korea, earning global acclaim. But with fame comes controversies, and this time it involves Karina and SM Entertainment. View this post on Instagram Instagram PostKarina is the leader and main dancer of aespaAt the the time of aespa’s debut, several fans of the group had claimed that Karina was the company “baby” and was unfairly favored over the other members- Giselle, NingNing and Winter. Now, it appears public perception has drastically changed.ًً@KARlNACEno but if i talk about the treatment karina has been receiving lately......😶😶😶😶😶4:45 PM · Dec 8, 2021257no but if i talk about the treatment karina has been receiving lately......😶😶😶😶😶On December 8, several aespa fans (aka MYs) claimed that several images of the group’s leader were deleted from aespa’s official Instagram account, with no actual reason provided. This led several to accuse SM Entertainment of treating Karina poorly.rinas@chuchoterkarinaLet see, if Giselle/Ningning/Winter got this treatment, surely mys will come out with billions of # already. Karina has been treated like this so many times but yeah no one cares. And you ask me why I hate mys?4:46 PM · Dec 8, 20214419Let see, if Giselle/Ningning/Winter got this treatment, surely mys will come out with billions of # already. Karina has been treated like this so many times but yeah no one cares. And you ask me why I hate mys?In light of this, several other factors were pointed out. Many fans noticed that ever since the group’s debut, Karina has had fewer individual photos released on social media, when compared to the others. While aespa’s main dancer has only 51 pictures to her name, the rest have more than 55. View this post on Instagram Instagram PostSeveral MYs also noted that this was not the first time Karina has not been given equal attention.grace 🌼@rinatothemoon"I feel so bad knowing karina also experienced this kind of treatment. But..." Found not one tweet asking aespa_official why they deleted her pics 🦗🦗🦗5:57 PM · Dec 8, 2021436"I feel so bad knowing karina also experienced this kind of treatment. But..." Found not one tweet asking aespa_official why they deleted her pics 🦗🦗🦗Winter, Giselle, and Ningning were featured on aespa's Weibo account in late June and early July. Unfortunately, Karina's images have been neglected by the company. It was only after fans trended over hashtags and submitted emails to the label that SM Entertainment finally uploaded Karina's photos.æ-재현 (JH이재현)🥬🥕@ae_retr012Delete all you want, but I'm gonna post it everywhere lol🤪😤😡@aespa_official Karina doesn't deserve this kind of treatment!#에스파 #aespa #Karina #카리나6:32 PM · Dec 8, 20214Delete all you want, but I'm gonna post it everywhere lol🤪😤😡@aespa_official Karina doesn't deserve this kind of treatment!#에스파 #aespa #Karina #카리나 https://t.co/rKZkvtZpneDuring the ace dancer’s birthday, there were no special videos released, as was done in case of the other members. Fans of the aespa leader had to settle for only a livestream, and a photo shared by SM Entertainment on the K-Pop group’s Twitter, and Instagram stories.Even on Giselle’s birthday, while SM Entertainment uploaded polaroid images of the member, Karina was cropped out. The photos featured only Giselle, Ningning and Winter, accompanied by a bit of Karina's arm. The image had caused significant outrage amongst aespa fans, especially since Karina is the leader of the quartet. View this post on Instagram Instagram PostSome fans also pointed out how Karina was given the fewest number of lines in aespa’s breakthrough mini-album, Savage.SM Entertainment has also been repeatedly criticized for dressing Karina in outfits that do not allow a lot of movement, which is surprising since she is aespa’s lead dancer.Karina had her first solo activity back in November, where the star made a vlog series titled Travel Diary: Soul: Seoul, promoting Seoul. Despite it being her first solo tour, SM Entertainment barely advertised it. Many people were surprised to learn that Karina had her own schedule to begin with.똥뿌 🥬🥕@havefunkarina.@aespa_official don't even bother to at least retweet the official tweets from her travel diary when she was obviously promoting seoul while also carrying aespa's name with her7:04 PM · Dec 8, 2021809211.@aespa_official don't even bother to at least retweet the official tweets from her travel diary when she was obviously promoting seoul while also carrying aespa's name with herGiven the aforementioned instances, several netizens have expressed their disappointment with SM Entertainment’s treatment of the star. They also highlighted how it was a disastrous move for the company itself, since Karina is supposed to be the face and leader of aespa. SM Entertainment risks permanently upsetting the idol’s significant fan base if they don't push her into the spotlight.Meanwhile, aespa has been nominated for three awards at the upcoming Mnet Asian Music Awards 2021.