“Why invade their personal space?”: Fans heavily divided about &TEAM’s bodyguards pushing fans and yelling at the airport

HYBE’s employees managing &TEAM continue to draw ire from fans. On July 11, 2023, videos of the group’s bodyguards shoving fans who were trying to get close to the idol group went viral on Twitter. In other clips, the security personnel could be heard screaming at the top of their lungs. One particular clip also showed that the bodyguards used umbrellas to shield people from taking photographs of the singers.

Fans who saw the videos online were heavily divided in their opinions. While on the one hand the majority of Korean netizens on the South Korean forum, theqoo, criticized the bodyguards for their alleged excessive violence, international fans on Twitter defended them and expressed that it was needed because people were invading their personal space a bit too much.

Netizens have mixed reactions to &TEAM’s bodyguards using violence at the airport

HYBE Labels Japan’s first Japanese boy group, &TEAM, has recently been making headlines for unfortunate reasons. Earlier, the people in charge of body checks at the Scent of You singers’ fan sign were accused of s*xual harassment by several attendees. Most recently, on July 11, fans criticized the group’s bodyguards for alleged excessive violence and yelling at an airport.

A particular attendee on Twitter created an account with the username @kfpSN2EHDE86996 to post videos of the alleged poor treatment of the fans at the airport by &TEAM’s bodyguards. One clip particularly showed a bodyguard shoving a person to the side, while another clip showed a broad view of the people at the airport and some bodyguards screaming.

On the South Korean forum, theqoo, fans expressed their surprise at the loud screaming. One netizen mentioned that the bodyguards were “oversensitive” and had an “overreaction.” Another netizen even said that the security person had shoved the fan too “violently.”

On the other hand, international fans on Twitter took the side of the security personnel. Many of them criticized the people who had crowded the airports, despite the particular schedule being a private one. They shared that it was difficult to know when &TEAM would appear at the airport, considering the schedule wasn’t a public one.

While on theqoo, netizens shared that the airport wasn’t as noisy, people on Twitter mentioned the lack of personal space given to the Japanese idols. The latter also added that the bodyguards were doing their jobs and wouldn’t need to take extreme steps if fans had remained at a peaceful distance. Some fans also noted that the bodyguards could be heard screaming at fans not to come near the group.

In other news, &TEAM made their much-awaited comeback after nearly six months on June 14 with the release of their second EP, First Howling: WE, and its title track, Firework. On July 11, the group released an official music video of the album’s b-side, Road Not Taken, on YouTube.

About the author

Afreen has been a K-Pop Content Specialist at Sportskeeda since 2021. She holds a Bachelor's degree in English Literature, along with a Post-Graduate Diploma in Journalism and Mass Communication. Afreen has over 4+ years of working in various positions including being an entertainment content writer with Pinkvilla’s K-pop division Hallyutalk and CineDope, and as a copywriter at Flying Cursor.

As per Afreen, she loves her work because she gets to write about the things she is obsessed with. Her thorough research and following the two-genuine-source rule of journalism helps her produce the most accurate content, along with helping her be up-to-date with the industry.

Afreen has had the privilege to interview The Rose's frontrunner, WOOSUNG, and LIONESSES, K-pop's first openly LGBTQ+ group. She is a big fan of SEVENTEEN, Stray Kids, BTS, and The Rose for their hard work, sincerity, and the comic relief their shows provide.

When she is off her shift, Afreen explores the streets of Nottingham in the UK, cooks, and listens to new music.

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