Members of OMEGA X have spoken up in regards to the abuse they allegedly endured below company SPIRE Entertainment and its detrimental influence on their psychological well being.
The Ok-pop boyband held a press convention yesterday (November 16) alongside their authorized counsel the place their 11 members personally aired allegations of abuse and sexual harassment towards the company’s ex-CEO Kang Seong-hee, who’s accused of “threatening, assaulting and exploiting” members of the group previously yr since their debut.
OMEGA X’s attorneys shared plans to press expenses towards Kang and revealed that they’ve utilized to nullify the group’s current unique contract with SPIRE.
Claims concerning Kang first surfaced final month after the conclusion of OMEGA X’s ‘Connect: Don’t Give Up’ US tour. Korean outlet SBS News revealed video clips that reportedly depict Kang verbally abusing and manhandling members exterior the live performance venue and of their resort foyer in Los Angeles. The band launched a brand new, unbiased Instagram account shortly after the clips went viral, the place they claimed they had been topic to “unwarranted treatment” from SPIRE.
Kang beforehand denied the allegations to SBS. SPIRE later issued a proper apology and concurrently introduced the resignation of “the CEO responsible for this matter”. The firm has but to reply on the most recent allegations aired by OMEGA X and their attorneys in the course of the press convention. NME has reached out to SPIRE Entertainment for remark.
In the press convention, OMEGA X’s members spoke on how their psychological well being deteriorated because of the alleged abuse, per a report from Korea JoongAng Daily, and said they consider different Ok-pop hopefuls and idols are dealing with comparable therapy behind the scenes.
“I really tried to endure it,” member Hangyeom informed press of the alleged abuse and mistreatment. “Since this was my second debut, I didn’t want to make fans hear the word ‘disband’. So I just picked up the phone whenever Kang, drunk, would call me all the time; during our schedules and even late at night after work.” (All members of OMEGA X had been in numerous, now-disbanded boy teams previous to their re-debut collectively.)
“Whenever I got home, I became anxious that Kang would call any minute,” Hangyeom continued. “I ultimately couldn’t take it anymore and began going to a psychiatric clinic. In reality, even now, after I hear a cellphone ring or vibrate, or something remotely like an alarm, I panic. Even earlier than beginning psychiatric therapy, I had many events after I couldn’t breathe due to her infinite calling and verbal abuse.
“Once, when another panic attack happened, I told Kang that I couldn’t breathe. She mocked me saying, ‘Oh, are we going to see articles that say ‘OMEGA X becomes a 10-member band because Hangyeom has panic disorder?’ I was shocked by that.”
Other bandmates additionally alleged that the abuse they confronted whereas below SPIRE’s administration didn’t finish with Kang. “Not just Kang, but also employees and managers yelled insults at us and gaslit us,” Jaehan, who’s the chief of OMEGA X, stated. “And during the recent world tour, we were physically assaulted by them too.” Yechan additionally recalled that “another high[er]-up at our agency told us [to] ‘die’ in the group chat while we were touring South America.”
OMEGA X additionally stated they consider the verbal and bodily abuse they confronted was not an remoted incident distinctive to the group nor SPIRE. “I know not every agency is like that, but I think a lot of K-pop trainees and even current idols are being treated unfairly,” Taedong stated.
“I practiced 15 to 17 hours a day without a single day off. They confiscated my phone and forced me to share my passwords,” he alleged of the company he was with earlier than SPIRE. “There was abuse in my old agency too,” Hangyeom added. “I wasn’t beaten but other members were, at the office or even during tours.”
Following the press convention, Japanese media firm SKIYAKI, which holds the license for OMEGA X’s actions in Japan, introduced yesterday that it’s going to now not be working with SPIRE transferring ahead. SKIYAKI stated it “has determined that SPIRE… has committed a serious compliance violation. We have decided to terminate our exclusive contract with SPIRE,” the corporate wrote on the group’s Japanese web site. NME has reached out to SPIRE Entertainment for remark.
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