After his recent live, Super Junior Leeteuk sparked conversations within the LGBTQ+ and K-pop community by seemingly hinting at his bisexuality.
The second-generation idol went on his social media to interact with ELFs (fandom) through a live broadcast. During the broadcast, he addressed several questions from viewers, one of which sparked a heated discussion among fans and netizens.
Specifically, it was noticed that Leeteuk has been receiving inquiries about his sexual orientation in relation to his romantic relationships, to which he replied:
“The comments are asking if I like men or women? I like BOTH. I’m not the type to specifically dislike certain people. If I answer such a question too directly, it will become a controversy.”
Super Junior’s Leeteuk on recent live:— “The comments asked if I like men or women? I like both. I’m not the type to specifically dislike certain people. If I answer such a question too directly, it will cause controversy.” pic.twitter.com/aaoSJXVlyy
— Kpop Charts (@kchartsmaster) July 6, 2024
Upon its upload on X, this particular snippet sparked a great deal of attention and many individuals were speculating that Leeteuk had indirectly revealed himself as being part of the LGBTQ+ community, specifically as “bisexual”which refers to someone who is attracted to more than one sex or gender.
The 41-year-old icon received an overwhelming amount of support from both the LGBTQ+ and K-pop community, who hoped that his bravery would inspire other idols to embrace their true selves.
Below are a few of the comments:
- “He is a bisexual king!”
- “Our open king, we support.”
- “Nothing wrong in liking both, that’s why preference exists.”
- “Being a queer in a K-pop group takes a lot of courage. Congratulations our bisexual king!”
I read some koreans comments regarding leeteuk’s last live. A lot of them were explaining he was mostly referring to the social differences between males and females and that’s why he said he didn’t want to cause controversy.
— ₊⋅ ⁶⁰⁶ AJ supporter∘⁺ (@_Hyukjaee) July 7, 2024
However, some Koreans have argued that his statement may have been misunderstood and taken out of context. They believe that his use of the phrase “creating a controversy”was likely referring to the societal disparities between genders.
Despite the uncertainty of Leeteuk’s sexual orientation, there are still internet users who praised the K-pop icon for showing support for the community.
Despite the sensitivity of Korean culture, this is not the first instance in which he has openly expressed his support for LGBTQ+ individuals. During a YouTube live stream, a transgender individual shared their fears of societal rejection, and he compassionately reassured them, stating:
“At times like this, you can just let go, and speak comfortably, you have nothing to be sorry about.[…] Jungho, I hope you can live your life, got it?”
LEETEUK ✨️ https://t.co/0PTRqpzac0 pic.twitter.com/cJ09G8AcOA
— I Live For HC 🍒 (@LiveForChul) July 6, 2024
Conversely, there are also internet users who are ridiculing Super Junior and spreading malicious content about the rest of the members.
According to their claim, it was unusual to see the leader included in a group with individuals who were labeled as “homophobic”and “misogynist,”specifically Siwon, Heechul, and Shindong.
suju having a homophobe a queer member and a fatphobic member whos fat himself 😭 https://t.co/O3CmOgYkSN
— wonseula Underground (@wonseula) July 6, 2024
there’s layers to this.. https://t.co/QsA3MWl1js pic.twitter.com/y0e3bk6Jdu
— key (@kdycunt) July 7, 2024
The discussion has prolonged due to the swift response of ELFs who have come to the defense of the members and expressed their hope for an end to the unjust criticism.
if ur not a fan of suju jus say “congrats” or any other generic expression sm1 would say to anyone coming out.. . istg theres no need 2 b making such kind of comments ab this at all like yall so obsessed over a group u dont even its actually pathetic lmfao like Grow up! https://t.co/d3hVlZ78Uf
— ♯sam (@YEETE3K) July 7, 2024
very weird how this man has been repeatedly and vocally supporting the lgbtq community for ages and y’all called him homoph*bic, but now suddenly you like him cause he might be bi himself? the only thing stronger than your hate for suju is your fucked up fetish for gay idols https://t.co/1AkPoAmV7Z
— Anna loves Chul 3000. (@SUJUSHlDAE_) July 7, 2024
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