“It’s always the female idol who gets criticized…”
Amidst Zico‘s “Golden Phone” controversy resurfacing once again, a viral post on Pann titled “But why did Jennie release a song with Zico?” became a hot topic. Netizens are now defending BLACKPINK‘s Jennie from those attempting to involve her in the situation due to her recent collaboration with Zico.
| @jennierubyjane/Instagram
The “Golden Phone” controversy dates back to 2016 when Zico appeared on a show with Jung Joon Young. During the episode, Zico mentioned Jung’s phone, filled with numerous celebrity contacts, particularly female ones, dubbing it the “Golden Phone.” The clip resurfaced amidst the Burning Sun scandal revelations, which uncovered Jung’s involvement in distributing non-consensual sex tapes, known as molka.
| @woozico0914/Instagram
This year, Jennie featured in Zico’s single “SPOT!” which became a huge hit in South Korea and is one of the contenders for song of the year. The collaboration however seemed to have disapponited certain netizens. In the viral Pann post with more than 65,000 views, the user criticised Jennie’s decision to collaborate with the controversial star.
Honestly, it was really disappointing. Does Jennie not know about that incident at all? I wondered how could she think about doing a song with Zico.
— Original Poster
Following the criticism, many netizens have rallied in Jennie’s defense. One lengthy comment in particular stands out, with the Pann commenter pointing out the broader pattern of targeted hate towards BLACKPINK.
Nate Pann, DC Gallery, The Qoo, Instiz, Naver comment sections… The typical 30s, 40s, 50s “aunties” and “uncles.”
When the Burning Sun scandal broke, these primitive haters attacked innocent female idols more than the actual male criminals. They witch-hunted and slandered BLACKPINK with all sorts of hate comments and curses, making them the ‘girl group abandoned by their country’ among overseas fans.
And now what? Out of all the SM and HYBE artists and actors genuinely close to Zico, you’re targeting Jennie, who just collaborated with him musically without much of a personal connection, and attacking BLACKPINK again?
How much longer do you need to witch-hunt BLACKPINK to be satisfied? Isn’t the years of torment you’ve given BLACKPINK enough? And now you’re doing this again? Wow, you’re worse than a beast, filthier than scum. I hope you face divine retribution and your family suffers for generations.
OP, someone like you deserves to be attacked randomly on the street. It would be karma for your viciousness.
— Comment on Pann
| Pann
Others also mentioned the gendered nature of the criticism, noting that female idols often face harsher scrutiny than their male counterparts.
“Pann girls are amazing LOL If a male idol does something wrong, in the end, it’s always the female idol who gets criticized lol?”
“Zico is well-connected. He’s close friends with J-Hope, they’ve filmed talk shows together, and he’s also friends with Do Kyung Soo, Lee Sung Kyung, and Sunmi. Jennie probably knew him beforehand to some extent.”
“If you’re angry at Zico, direct it at him. Why suddenly drag Jennie into this?”
“Fans, just stop commenting… It’s clear this person wants Jennie to get hate, but Zico has worked with so many celebrities over the years. Among his collaborations, this one happened to do well. Are you going to drag in all the other artists who’ve worked with Zico too? Just ignore it.”
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