We're fed up and perhaps so is Taeyong
Some of Taeyong's fans are increasingly fed up with the nonsense and demeaning commentary about him online and pushing back against the tirade of libelous dehumanising jokes and posts.
Taeyong’s strength of character is something I admire most about him. His curiosity makes him an avid learner. His perseverance makes him resilient and hard working. His innate ability to pre-empt others’ reactions makes him a formidable leader. But none of this seems to matter to a certain segment of his fandom. For a long time, I have quietly stood back and enabled the rabble rousers to get their 10 seconds of fame. Their ‘hit’ tweets and their retweets may mean they get the views, but do they actually get the respect? And are these real fans or mass formed bots in disguise?
Today, 24 August 2022, the NCT 127 Instagram page had a Q and A ‘ask me anything ‘ with Taeyong. The aim of this promotion is of course, to bring fans closer to their idols as they prepare for their comeback on September 16th. However, what some fans discovered was that some of the questions were bordering on the offensive. Several times he had to respond to questions pertaining to ‘poop’ which was not only uncomfortable to read, but embarrassing considering he’s a 27 year old man not a toddler.
“I pooped 2 times today!”
“Oppa if I talk about poop you’ll read it? How about me?”
“So it’s right that you’ll only read it when I talk about poop!! I’ve caught you”
Immature toilet humour aside, Taeyong was then confronted with more inane questions about puppies, bananas and cockroaches. It appears as though fans cared little about asking Taeyong serious questions about his favourite movie, song, artist, his passions and likes, and used the opportunity to engage in childish banter reminiscent of a primary school playground.
Things took a rather dramatic turn however, when the official translation of one of Taeyong’s answers was re-shared by twitter account @tyzip_. The question and answer shared was nothing too brazen although the statement that “all men are the same” inevitably implied some sort of agenda on the part of the person stating it. Taeyong’s response to this was perhaps a little unexpected.
“They’re all wolves and among them I’m the leader”
When a large fan account @tyzip_ shared this statement from the Q and A, the response was bewildering. Suddenly a tsunami of supposed Taeyong fans launched at the account, retweeting their post with Taeyong’s own words, and making a mockery of what was said. Over three thousand people retweeted their post mocking Taeyong’s assertiveness as a ‘wolf leader’ and making accusations and assumptions of him being an ‘omega’ - a term associated with someone submissive erotically and sexually. Joking about someone’s sexuality should never be an accepted pastime especially in a climate where online bullying and false judgments can damage an idol’s reputation and their mental health. It appears these fans showed little regard for @tyzip_ who shared the post, ratio-ing them to the point where they deactivated their account, but also, showed a vile disrespect for Taeyong himself who’s words they shared. How anyone who considers themselves a fan or supporter of an artist could joke (and persistently call it a joke) about their sexual preferences, identity or desires is beyond me.
I am certain, a large number of these retweets were from bots on Twitter which run with certain themes to gain traction and momentum to create discord. We all know of the bot farms and how they are used to generate tension and animosity because it escalates engagement on the platform. I am certain that when topics of sexual identity and preferences are mentioned, the bot algorithm kicks into gear. Suddenly, the account with over 25 thousand followers was mocked, ridiculed and belittled because they dared to imply that Taeyong was something other than an omega, pushing the account to deactivate - a large fan account that worked tirelessly to promote Taeyong and his work. The bitter irony is that Taeyong himself spoke those words referring to himself as a ‘wolf leader’ so who these supposed fans were ratio-ing is beyond anyone’s capacity to grasp.
Having had enough of the sexual allegations, accusations, and presumptions about Taeyong’s personal preferences and identity, fans pushed back defending @tyzip_ who shared his words, and Taeyong himself. Increasingly, more and more fans are starting to speak out against the persistent trolling by certain mass mobs online, especially when they see it fit to ‘joke’ about things this personal. What happened today isn’t just three thousand Taeyong stans having a laugh at his expense. What happened today was a coordinated attack on him. An attack on his reputation as an artist and leader of his group. It was a coordinated attempt at character assassination disguised as a ‘joke’.
Fans retaliated against the online abuse.
“I’m too angry to even form a coherent comment right now on how much I hate you all for this fucking bullshit behaviour. Every single one of you on that omega bandwagon is a loser. Absolutely pathetic.”
“YOU HAVE TO BE KIDDING ME What the fck is wrong with ppl? He IS a leader no matter how delulu you are. Is it this hard for u to cope with the fact that he is not fitting your fantasies? U need to reduce him to omega immediately? Those are the ppl that make him feel insecure…”
“Don't even know why this is such a serious discussion to be heated fucking mass ratioing anyone for no good reason.”
“Y'all always joke about fave been omega and when he finally gives in and called himself the leader of a pack you have a problem with it? Y'all are seriously annoying.“
“Basically a fabrication which after some time became generally accepted by fans made tyzip deactivate. see how this is a similar situation with spreading assumptions without basis? it may be satisfactory at the moment you do it but you never know when it will backfire”
“I can't find the tweet now anywhere but tyzip_ posted a twt where taeyong said that he'd prefer to be the leader of the wolfs but that twt got ratioed by nctzens saying he's an omega instead and now tyzip_ has deactivated”
Today’s fiasco isn’t new nor rare. On many occasions, Taeyong’s loyal fans are forced to defend him against every possible assault coming from disgruntled fans of other members, hostile antis and even NCTzens themselves. In retaliation, Tyongfs find themselves putting out spot-fires and ducking grenades coming from every angle, as well as bearing the brunt of the personal attacks, ratios, and outright abuse coming from those that seek to destroy Taeyong and his legacy. So many have given up on Twitter altogether and left. Some support Taeyong from the sidelines only. Others have gone private to protect their own mental health.
Such antics are common on Twitter and the Kpop space isn’t immune to such vagaries. However, the time has come for many of Taeyong’s fans to say enough is enough. Enough of the dehumanising and debasing antics comparing him to animals, fruit, inanimate objects, as well as shipping him with every member to satisfy fans’ bedroom fantasies. Enough of the name calling and references to Taeyong’s sexual preferences and bedroom habits. Enough of referring to him as someone who is of the lowest social standing and desirability. Enough of mocking his leadership abilities and his artistic capabilities. Enough of attacking his virility and masculinity. For those that clap back with comments such as ‘it’s a joke’ and ‘you’re a homophobe’ all because we simply won’t tolerate making assumptions about someone’s personal life without their consent, I urge you to think again. Consider everything Taeyong has disclosed personally on his bubbles, instagram and lives. Think carefully about the things you ‘joke’ about and how that may affect him personally. He lurks on Twitter and I shudder to think of the nasty garbage he’s had to see online. When Taeyong tells you he gets tattoos when he’s stressed, and he got a LOT of them between November and April this year, perhaps consider that a sign he’s struggling. Struggling with his life, expectations, commitments and struggling because maybe, he feels no one really understands him. As fans, we owe it to him to stand by as a vanguard enabling him to feel the comfort and security to be able to move forwards in his life and career without fear.
Who’s with me?
Honestly the jokes have gotten far far out of hand. Its become not funny anymore and just flat out annoying that i cant post any photo of taeyong without someone commenting “ohhh cute omega” or something even worse. Like please stop its so frustrating. He’s so strong and kind, powerful, charismatic. There’s so much more too him then just a pretty face
please consider therapy