The global Kpop giant, HYBE, is facing another massive controversy following the fandom name announcement of their new girl group, ILLIT. What’s more unexpected is that this announcement has caused massive outrage from international fans. Why? Because according to some fans, HYBE has reportedly stolen the fandom name from a solo stan of prominent global artist BLACKPINK Lisa. But what exactly happened, and how is that possible? Join us in a complete report below.
The Controversy Surrounding ILLIT Fandom Name
HYBE new Kpop girl group and viral sensation, ILLIT, has finally announced their fandom name, only to get more controversy instead.
On April 21, ILLIT conducted a live-streaming broadcast on Weverse, announcing the official name of their fandom. Embodying their strong and adorable image of youth, the 5 ILLIT members smiled as they announced that from today forward, ILLIT’s fans will be called LILLY, with a double “L” reflecting the iconic spelling of the group’s name.
OUR FANDOM NAME IS ‘LILLY’ OMG 😭 pic.twitter.com/2ZYR3NdhI2
— rune 𓇢𓆸 (@willibeit) April 21, 2024
While this name may sound cute and highly appropriate to accompany the group’s name, it actually creates massive controversy instead.
LILLY: Stolen from Other Kpop Idols
After the name circulated on the internet and social media, fans began massively criticizing HYBE and Belift Lab, the agency from which the new girl group originated.
This massive criticism originated from the international solo stan of BLACKPINK Lisa. Over the last few years, solo stans and global fans of BLACKPINK Lisa have been calling themselves Lillies or Lilies. They had been using these names on countless occasions, and this name has spread far and wide around international music communities.
Not only fans but even BLACKPINK Lisa herself has already acknowledged her individual fandom name. On several occasions, BLACKPINK Lisa has been thanking BLINKs as her global fandom and LILIES as her own fandom.
— lilismm | LILLIES FOR LISA (@tryithoeuwish) April 21, 2024
Due to this controversy, fans began criticizing HYBE for stealing Lisa’s fandom name for ILLIT. Fans accused HYBE of a severe lack of creativity that the company had to take the name from Lisa’s fandom. And not only an existing fandom, they also use the name of an existing idol: Lily from NMIXX.
Therefore, fans believe that this time HYBE has crossed the line. Being the largest Kpop giant, the company has reportedly abused its power to dominate Kpop. Others also believed that HYBE did it on purpose to create more viral sensations for their new Kpop group ILLIT.
But what do you think? Do you agree with these accusations? Please share your thoughts in the comments.
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