NewJeans' request represents the K-Pop industry's ongoing endeavours to combat rumours spreading on various social media platforms.
The K-Pop sensation NewJeans is currently embroiled in a legal battle against defamation. In their pursuit of justice, the group has taken legal action by filing a motion in federal court in California to reveal the identity of the anonymous individual responsible for spreading defamatory content on YouTube.
As per a New York Times report, the girl group’s agency, ADOR, has initiated legal proceedings by seeking aid from a U.S federal court to uncover the identity of a YouTube user accused of disseminating defamatory content about them. In a recent court submission in California, the group asserted that a YouTube account named @Middle7 had circulated harmful remarks about them. Notably, the videos have garnered millions of views.
According to the band’s lawyer, Eugene Kim, the videos not only contained derogatory remarks but also resorted to ‘name-calling and mocking behaviour’ directed at NewJeans, causing significant reputational harm and mental strain.
Should the court order be granted, the ‘Hype Boy’ crooners will be able to pursue legal recourse against the YouTube user in their home country of South Korea, where defamation is considered to be a serious criminal offence. Meanwhile, ADOR has affirmed its dedication to protecting their rights.
Following the news of defamation, @Middle7 responded with a rather sarcastic video on April 11, posting a video titled, “Middle7’s apology after being sued by NewJeans.” In the video, the masked YouTuber explained, “So NewJeans’ label sued me... I woke up and what’s going on? But what’s a relief is that I didn’t apply for revenue generation. lol. But I’m still human so I’m scared and nervous. At first, I wasn’t interested in idols at all but I’ve come this far after posting videos for fun. Sigh... I didn’t want to get this famous... I’ll omit the apology since Minji already wrote one...” Taking to the comment section, Middle7 pinned their own comment, “So scared ㅠㅠ” in a sarcastic tone. The video has now been taken down by YouTube.
As for NewJeans’ activities, Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin, and Hanni, have been making waves since their debut in 2022. Recently, the band amassed 4 billion streams on Spotify with all their albums entering the streaming platform’s billion playlist. They are making a comeback with their upcoming single album ‘How Sweet’ scheduled for release on May 24. Moreover, the band will also be making their Japanese debut.