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At the beginning of July, ENHYPEN member Heesung landed himself in trouble for uttering the n-word while singing along to SZA's Love Galore. This video was posted on the band's official YouTube channel, and it divided the K-Pop idol group's fan base.
When black fans voiced out against the ENHYPEN singer for using the racial slur, they began to face death threats and even racist abuse online. The group's fandom essentially turned aggressive within themselves, yet there is no word from ENHYPEN's agency, BELIFT, or Heesung.
BELIFT is part of HYBE Corporation. The corporation also owns other agencies, including BTS' BigHit Entertainment and Pledis Entertainment, among others.
What intensified the rising dissent online was the claim made by several fans that the racist abuse resulted in a fan's suicide.
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Why did #WeLovedEnhypen begin trending?
The deceased fan's final message was reportedly posted by her father after her death, and screenshots of the same have not gone viral. As a result, the hashtag Protect Black Engenes had been trending until July 5th, when a Twitter page called Engene Protection Team posted a thread.
In the thread, they asked supporters to tweet #WeLovedEnhypen to show BELIFT how much support ENHYPEN would lose by staying silent. This thread appeals to fellow fans about how much they loved the band, much before its debut and introduction through I-LAND.
This handle wrote about the letters that they had written for their idols, the merchandise they bought, and the memberships they carry to show their love for ENHYPEN. The group also claimed that they felt utterly abandoned and ignored by the band now.
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The page then urged both Black fans and allies to use #WeLovedEnhypen to show Black Engenes support.
Why are fans divided over the hashtag We Loved Enhypen?
The hashtag brought on a new force of Enhypen fans who claimed that people were just overreacting to Heesung singing his favorite song. Many believed that it was just an accident, not something that needed to be blown out of proportion.
However, the n-word is a term that has for years been used to oppress the Black community, and it is only recently that they have reclaimed the word. Evidently, its usage belongs to them and their culture.
Other fans must understand where the Black fans came from when they voiced out against Heesung.
Did a Black Engene leave suicide note on TikTok?
Instead, Black fans faced online abuse and racial abuse, allegedly leading to the death of a fan. This death was what had started the Protect Black Engene trend on Twitter. The constant bullying and online abuse they face have come to the forefront.
The bullying was reportedly also prevalent on the fan interaction app Weverse. Black fans were also reported to be victims of extreme racial abuse on the app.
It was alleged that Weverse curbed the use of hashtags that asked for protection against abuse while posts that were racist were not even moderated.
It must also be noted that the death of the fan has not been officially confirmed. A few from the community had claimed they had seen the final words from the fan and posted about it on TikTok.
Screenshots of the same were then shared on Twitter. But nothing is confirmed as yet.
