MONSTA X's 'Me Too' controversy, fans demanded apology from members

[mashikyukyu]

The apology was issued after a video of MONSTA X's fan sign event began garnering attention online. In the video, Minhyuk puts his mic on Wonho's chest and asks, "Nipple-ssi, please say something". In response, Wonho raises his hand, says the word "me too" in English and laughs. The video has resurfaced after taking place on March 9th, earlier this year.

Comments:​

• "At least their fans know what's right .. They're more mature than fans who defend their idols no matter what they do!"
• "If even the fans are demanding an apology from him, does the member not feel anything at all?"
• "He’s not only a man but also an idol with many female fans. He will never know what it feels like to lose power in a s*xual assault. Even if fans demand an apology from him, they will never receive one that is heartfelt. His mindset about this is all wrong and he’s going to make the same mistake again, while wondering like other men “what did I do so wrong?”, and he’s going to hate his fans for it in the end. A lot of fans have already turned their backs on him over this, me included, so farewell."
• "Fans are amazing. This is what a real fandom is. They know what's wrong to fix it."
• "Wonho was already caught drinking and smoking as a minor in the past ... If Shownu is what gets people into the fandom, Wonho is what makes people leave."
• "Making a joke out of Me Too while living off of women's money .. It's easy to live as a male idol."
• "The courage to come out and apologize is nothing compared to the courage that countless women who participated in the movement had to do."

Since the video caused controversy, Starship Entertainment released a statement:​

Hello, this is Starship Entertainment.​

While we had no intentions to cause any harm at MONSTA X’s fan sign event earlier this year, nor during their time of promotions, we would like to give out our most sincerest apologies to everyone and all the fans who felt uncomfortable by the behavior and comments that left room for misunderstanding.​

Starship and MONSTA X recognize the issues that were brought up and have since continuously discussed the matter.​

Thanks to this incident, we are all deeply reflecting on the careless words and actions. We would like once again apologize to those who are hurt.​

In the future, Starship and MONSTA X will make greater efforts to listen to suggestion made by fans and society to overcame the areas in which we lack.​

Thank you​

​

Wonho and Minhyuk have also posted individual apologies to the fan café. Read their apologies below:
Wonho wrote,​

Hello. This is MONSTA X’s Wonho.
I would like to sincerely apologize to the fans and anyone who might have been hurt by my thoughtless words at the March fan sign event.
I did not think about whether what I said could do harm to the Me Too movement and could potentially cause more suffering to the victims, and I disappointed and hurt many people due to my thoughtless actions and words. Looking back on it now, I don’t know how I could say something so ignorant. I am continuing to reflect deeply on this.
It pains me to think that I could have disappointed my fans, who have always energized me and became my source strength, due to my behavior. Through this, I have realized that I could potentially cause harm to people due to my careless actions.
I will look back on this and reflect upon the past so that I can be more careful with my words and actions in the future. I will learn more about the areas in which I like, correct my morals, and show a mature side of me. I promise to become a Wonho who works hard. One again, I am very sorry.
– Wonho

Minhyuk’s apology reads,​

Hello, this is MONSTA X’s Minhyuk.
I would like to apologize to the fans and anyone who was hurt by my thoughtless actions and words. Through this incident, I learned that I could possibly cause harm and discomfort to others by being careless with my comments and behavior, and I continue to reflect on my past actions. I should have been careful with all my words and actions, but there were instances in which I did not think before action.
This apology is late but I am still sincerely sorry about my mistake and will make sure that I will not repeat these mistakes in the future. I am so sorry for disappointing the fans. In the future, I will think and work towards a more mature Minhyuk. Once again, I am so sorry.
– Minhyuk

 

[An Okay Rock]

I know this detracts from the point of the thread but I just kind of want to say that personally, I don't even like the Me Too movement that much. It was great in the beginning but now it's just slowly become something for women to victimize themselves and drag men through the mud because we have to believe what the woman in the situation said. It started off as something empowering and positive but its just kind of become man-hating and I think it makes it harder to believe real victims. Also, it seems to make a case that it's only women that can be sexually assaulted by men when it can really happen to anyone by anyone.

Also some of the comments just seem to ignore the fact that he is a human who has thoughts and can make slip-ups but also end up feeling genuinely bad for the slip-ups, especially if they didn't see the unintentional harm caused by them. Like its an awful thing to say I guess but we all say awful things without thought so like give the dude a chance.

 

[mashikyukyu]

I know this detracts from the point of the thread but I just kind of want to say that personally, I don't even like the Me Too movement that much. It was great in the beginning but now it's just slowly become something for women to victimize themselves and drag men through the mud because we have to believe what the woman in the situation said. It started off as something empowering and positive but its just kind of become man-hating and I think it makes it harder to believe real victims. Also, it seems to make a case that it's only women that can be sexually assaulted by men when it can really happen to anyone by anyone.

Also some of the comments just seem to ignore the fact that he is a human who has thoughts and can make slip-ups but also end up feeling genuinely bad for the slip-ups, especially if they didn't see the unintentional harm caused by them. Like its an awful thing to say I guess but we all say awful things without thought so like give the dude a chance.

fr tho i feel like some ppl are giving the movement bad face for that exact reason smh, even if some ppl are trying hard to express themselves by trying to lean on the movement but even then they're not giving full sympathy bc the movement has changed its views
guess ppl are so hard on him just bc hes an idol, which should'nt be fair bc normal ppl make slipups like wonho too and they dont get death threats like wonho is getting now, some ppl need to like *skerttt*

 

[piscesigh]

Not gonna give an opinion on the Me Too movement because it's something I've lived way too close and seeing really influenced patriarchal comments here makes me feel some kind of way, specially by excusing themselves with the fact that it's becoming a "men-hating system" and genuinely not being able to differentiate between a men and a misogynistic prick, but let's not go there lmao
What Wonho did was wrong. Minhyuk also kind of contributed to it. That's it, and that's the facts. To ignore it or saying "they put it out of context" just because they are idols that you might like it's such big bullsh*t. Some things are okay to joke about, some things are not. People should grow up and learn that. I do appreciate however that they genuinely paid attention to it and not simply looked away until everything passed like many bgs do.
It's controversial because Monsta X is a really well informed group that pays a lot of attention to stuff like this, they have constantly supported many movements in subtle ways so for them to make a joke with something like this falls heavily on us monbebes because we know that they are not silly babies who pay no attention to this, that's why it was so shocking. Still, of course, he is human and this is a whole process of changing, people who grew up in a patriarchal system isn't going to deconstruct themselves over night, especially taking into account that South Korea's movement isn't the same as in other places of the world. I'm just glad that it was an opportunity for them to see it from other perspectives and that other people, not just idols, will see this as well and re-consider some stuff.

 

[mashikyukyu]

Not gonna give an opinion on the Me Too movement because it's something I've lived way too close and seeing really influenced patriarchal comments here makes me feel some kind of way, specially by excusing themselves with the fact that it's becoming a "men-hating system" and genuinely not being able to differentiate between a men and a misogynistic prick, but let's not go there lmao
What Wonho did was wrong. Minhyuk also kind of contributed to it. That's it, and that's the facts. To ignore it or saying "they put it out of context" just because they are idols that you might like it's such big bullsh*t. Some things are okay to joke about, some things are not. People should grow up and learn that. I do appreciate however that they genuinely paid attention to it and not simply looked away until everything passed like many bgs do.
It's controversial because Monsta X is a really well informed group that pays a lot of attention to stuff like this, they have constantly supported many movements in subtle ways so for them to make a joke with something like this falls heavily on us monbebes because we know that they are not silly babies who pay no attention to this, that's why it was so shocking. Still, of course, he is human and this is a whole process of changing, people who grew up in a patriarchal system isn't going to deconstruct themselves over night, especially taking into account that South Korea's movement isn't the same as in other places of the world. I'm just glad that it was an opportunity for them to see it from other perspectives and that other people, not just idols, will see this as well and re-consider some stuff.

couldnt have said it better myself, say it louder for the people in the back
and to think ppl avoid these topics and just try to backup their "oppas"

 

[myheartizomg]

Not gonna give an opinion on the Me Too movement because it's something I've lived way too close and seeing really influenced patriarchal comments here makes me feel some kind of way, specially by excusing themselves with the fact that it's becoming a "men-hating system" and genuinely not being able to differentiate between a men and a misogynistic prick, but let's not go there lmao
What Wonho did was wrong. Minhyuk also kind of contributed to it. That's it, and that's the facts. To ignore it or saying "they put it out of context" just because they are idols that you might like it's such big bullsh*t. Some things are okay to joke about, some things are not. People should grow up and learn that. I do appreciate however that they genuinely paid attention to it and not simply looked away until everything passed like many bgs do.
It's controversial because Monsta X is a really well informed group that pays a lot of attention to stuff like this, they have constantly supported many movements in subtle ways so for them to make a joke with something like this falls heavily on us monbebes because we know that they are not silly babies who pay no attention to this, that's why it was so shocking. Still, of course, he is human and this is a whole process of changing, people who grew up in a patriarchal system isn't going to deconstruct themselves over night, especially taking into account that South Korea's movement isn't the same as in other places of the world. I'm just glad that it was an opportunity for them to see it from other perspectives and that other people, not just idols, will see this as well and re-consider some stuff.

Couldn't have said it better sis

 

[piscesigh]

couldnt have said it better myself, say it louder for the people in the back
and to think ppl avoid these topics and just try to backup their "oppas"

Couldn't have said it better sis

Thanks to both of you uwu
Lets hope that people stop acting blind whenever something like this happens