Opinion | When does a K-pop fan’s support cross the line? Sunmi incident in New York shows that stars sometimes need to speak out
- With Sunmi telling an overzealous fan to ‘shut up’ at a concert, it’s time for some K-pop fans to look at how their behaviour affects their favourite stars
- If fans aren’t going to recognise the difference between supporting an artist and holding them back, then artists need to do it instead
On September 4 in New York, Korean singer Sunmi was on stage talking about the effort she had put into her “Good Girl Gone Mad” tour when she paused to address an overzealous fan who kept interrupting her with shouts of love and support.
“Shut up,” she said, later adding, “I love you, but shut up.”
The fan had been shouting things like “I love you” and “slay” apparently because of his love for the star.
But while he was cheered on at first by the crowd, support shifted when Sunmi spoke out, with the audience getting behind her after she addressed the rudeness.
Fans’ support is essential for any artist’s career, so calling one out for inappropriate behaviour is not a decision taken lightly.
Throughout the night, Sunmi regularly thanked her fans, known collectively as Miyane, for their support over the 16 years of her career, and even while telling the outspoken fan to rein himself in, she declared her love and gratitude for his support.
