"I will get singled out and attacked again" : Wanna One member Kang Daniel's statements have the internet divided

Wanna One member Kang Daniel’s recent comments have received a mixed reaction from netizens online, with many questioning the idol’s “tone.”

K-Pop group Wanna One, which had been on a break since 2019, was scheduled to perform in a reunion stage at the 2021 Mnet Asian Music Awards in December. However, a staff member testing positive for COVID-19 brought the plans to a halt, and all members of Wanna One underwent a COVID-19 test.

The group was forced to cancel their live performance, leaving fans disappointed. Only the pre-recorded performance was aired.

A short while later, the media agency Dispatch reported that the staff member who tested positive belonged to Kang Daniel's agency, Konnect Entertainment.

The Dispatch report also alleged that staff members of Konnect Entertainment did not wait until they received their PCR test results before proceeding with the artist's schedules. The staff member allegedly did not wait for the result of the PCR test before interacting with Kang Daniel, which resulted in the eventual havoc.

Given the Dispatch report, several Wanna One fans criticized Kang Daniel and his agency for ruining Wanna One's reunion plans. Kang Daniel’s recent comments, for many, sounded like a jab at the critics.

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Wanna One member Kang Daniel recently answered some fan questions

Earlier this week, the idol, while addressing fan questions, was asked whether he was going to watch the new Spider-Man movie in the theatres.

To the seemingly innocent question, Kang Daniel said (translated),

Image via Allkpop

Image via Allkpop

"I can't go to the movie theater.

First, there's COVID-19, and there are too many people, and it's hard to get tickets.

And if I tried to go out and for some reason, someone tests positive for COVID-19, then I will get singled out and attacked again.

It's like I'm that one kid who has been labeled by the teacher as the 'troublemaker'.

Even though the other kids near me talked too, the teacher only scolds me.

I'm not necessarily saying that I was the only one who got singled out regarding the COVID incident, but...

Why is everyone being like this... Apparently, I'm always the one at fault, all the time.

My whole point isn't that I'm the one who gets attacked all the time.

My point is that I need to be extra careful, to the point that I avoid going to the movies altogether.

If you're going to take every single thing I say and call me out on it, saying that I'm being careless, then I recommend that you stop using this platform.

Okay just blocked [some fans]."

Kang Daniel’s comments about being “singled out and attacked” for being a “troublemaker” has invoked a mixed reaction on online forums. While some empathized with the Wanna One member, many others took offense at the statements, accusing the idol of picking a fight.

Some of the comments (translated below), both for and against Kang Daniel, were:

"Why is he trying to pick a fight? It clearly seems like he is trying to say, I want to go to the movies but because you guys b****ed at me last time, now I can't go."

"Even if he didn't necessarily mean to be rude or blunt, he should know that he is using a public platform and a lot of people will see his comments."

"Okay if you're texting your friend, that's fine. But aren't you texting your fans? Is it really necessary to tell your fans your own, personal thoughts so bluntly?"

"It's true that your agency caused a lot of damages for the rest of the Wanna One members. Why would you put it like that?"

"So you're the only one being singled out and attacked, huh? But you're the CEO of that company..."

"He should have ended it at, 'I can't go to the movies because of COVID'."

"This is why being a celebrity is so stressful. Everything you say gets twisted."

"If he's on really friendly terms with his fans, sure he can talk to them about touchy topics. I don't see why it concerns anyone else."

"Idols are humans too, sometimes they need to vent. Stop trying to make idols apologize for things they didn't do."

"It's really not anyone's fault. It's COVID."

Meanwhile, Wanna One put up pre-recorded performances of Energetic, Burn It Up, and a new song Beautiful (Part III) at the 2021 MAMA.