‘She must be busy dating’: Fans angry over Red Velvet Joy’s lack of Bubble messages

Red Velvet Joy’s lack of communication on the fan-artist paid subscription app Bubble has resulted in an uproar among fans. A blog post in an online community attracted many views as the author claimed the idols who didn’t send a single message in over a month are considering fans “fools”.

The criticism took an ugly turn as several netizens dragged Joy’s relationship with R&B singer Crush into the discussion. They claimed her last message was on September 15, and there has been radio silence on Bubble since then. But they have noticed is active on Instagram and are slamming her for not communicating with them on the paid app.

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Red Velvet’s Joy gets criticized by netizens for not sending messages on Bubble for over a month

At the start of this week, an online community blog raked in views as it discussed and slammed Red Velvet’s Joy for not sending any messages on Bubble. The conversation took a turn when fans soon expressed their discontent towards it. They started calling out the idol and even claimed that other Red Velvet members always send them messages no matter how busy they get.

Bubble is a fan-artist direct communication app that offers a similar UI of a one-on-one chat room with one or multiple idols at a 4,500 KRW (3.80 USD) per month for each artist. Messaging their fans is at the artists' sole discretion, and they don’t need to send it.

However, fans do think they’re entitled to receive messages as they are paying for the privilege.

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Netizens even claimed that the Red Velvet member would only send two or three messages per month in the past two years. Many shared similar sentiments, dragging her relationship, saying that “she is too busy dating” and “has the time to text her lover… but to send Bubbles to her fans”.

You need to pay more attention to paid content. Why do you get paid if you don't? - 1933

All you have to do is tap your phone in the room, but if you don't even do that, I'm done. - 1940

If it's paid, it's right to have different content from the insta. You're doing it for money, so you have to show sincerity. - 1970

It's too much that he hasn't come even once a month. - 1839

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Other netizens have come out in support of Red Velvet’s Joy. Major discussion points include why only Joy is targeted, when multiple male idols haven’t sent Bubble messages for a month or more. They even talked about the reasons why idols usually don’t go public with their relationships.

There are a lot of male idols who haven't come for a few months, but I don't see their articles coming out. - 1943

When you're in a public relationship, you usually just go overboard with arrogance and exaggeration, so they inflate and scratch you... Even if you're usually very good, you suddenly become a person who doesn't care about your fans. - 1949

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However, some claim Red Velvet’s Joy read the articles and suddenly sent a message on the app. She’s even receiving hate for sending a message before the month's end; Bubble’s policy states that the money would be refunded if an idol does not send any messages for a month or more.

They expressed varied opinions on it, stating she either didn’t want them to get a refund or that she will now send messages after reading negative articles.

Many netizens also called paid communication “garbage” and “a problem”, saying that a real fan-to-artist communication should be free; otherwise it’s just a job.

Meanwhile, Red Velvet made its latest comeback on August 16, 2021, with Queendom, two years after their last Korean album release.