Controversy Surrounding NCT’s Jaemin’s Comments on EXO’s Baekhyun’s Album

On August 16, a dispute arose between the fanbases of EXO and NCT after an audio recording surfaced in which Jaemin from NCT openly expressed his criticisms of the album by his labelmate and senior, Baekhyun of EXO, specifically referring to the “City Lights”album.

During a livestream celebrating NCT Dream’s 3rd debut anniversary, the group brought up Baekhyun’s “City Lights”album. Jisung proudly shared that he had listened to the entire album, while Jaemin commented that he had also listened to it but didn’t find it particularly impressive. When the members asked each other about their favorite tracks from the album, Na Jaemin admitted that he had not yet listened to the entire album.

#baekhyun #jaemin pic.twitter.com/tFD9suBfWp

— KBIZoom (@kbizoom) August 16, 2024

After coming across this footage, Baekhyun’s fans were of the opinion that Jaemin’s comments showed a lack of respect towards his senior. The ensuing controversy led to the trending of hashtags related to the incident and songs from Baekhyun’s “City Lights”album in South Korea.

Despite the defense of NCT Dream’s fans, the outrage from EXO’s fandom continues following the backlash. Although some argued that the audio clip was edited and Jaemin’s words were not as severe as perceived, his criticism of a senior’s album, especially from the same company, during a live broadcast with a large audience was deemed disrespectful and impolite. Despite Jaemin’s possible innocence and sincerity, his actions have not appeased EXO’s fandom.

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