Seunghan

Apologies for the sound of my ceiling fan in this 😭. I didn't edit it at all.

I should say here that I absolutely respect Seunghan's decision to withdraw from the group (assuming it was actually what he wanted but I talk about that a bit in the video) because I honestly can't imagine being in RIIZE after the past two days would be a happy experience for him. My decision to boycott the brand has less to do with wanting him back in, and more to do with not wanting to support the potential abuse of the rest of the members. I think SM (and specifically the department/team responsible for RIIZE) has proven that they're not capable/unwilling to stand behind and protect their artists (which we been knew), alongside that sector of their fanbase proving that they're willing to attack and bully anyone to get what they want and maintain whatever weird power fantasy they have over the RIIZE members. This is not something exclusive to RIIZE, ofc. But that doesn't make it any less concerning and it's a precedent that could have been broken but has instead been maintained and even encouraged. I legitimately think that the idol industry is a little worse off for everyone because of this and I think that this has created a situation for the remaining members that I don't feel comfortable supporting at the moment.

My decision is subject to change, I don't know what it would take for me to feel comfortable supporting this brand again but right now I strongly feel like the other members are in an abusive dynamic with a loud minority of their fanbase and nothing is being done about it. Honestly at this point I wouldn't even want Seunghan to return to RIIZE and have to experience this vitriol all over again, but what we've witnessed is cruel and violent and I can't in good faith support the group knowing that all it takes is one wrong thing and then it can happen to any of the other members. I legitimately believe that their relationship with their fanbase as RIIZE of SM has been damaged in a way that would be hard on anyone's mental health.