Disbanded Wonder Girls' leader Seonye addressed backlash after she briefly posted ― then deleted ― a tribute to U.S. conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
On the 17th, Seonye wrote on her social media that she shared the post after watching “a grieving wife speak out after losing her husband in a tragic shooting,” adding, “As a mother, my heart ached and I offered condolences. Then strangers I’ve never met showed up to hurl insults, dragging in Charlie Kirk’s political statements and far-right controversies to attack me. Why go that far?”
“One person died, and I was simply mourning,” she continued. “Are you really smiling and saying, ‘Serves him right,’ about a human life? Are you angry because I refused to stay silent?”
She added that she responded to “dehumanizing language and unnecessary fights” on her page by deleting comments and blocking accounts. “Beyond being a mom or a woman, I mourned a tragic death as a person,” Seonye wrote. “I’m trying to live in a way that leaves a slightly better world to the next generation.”
“People can disagree, but I believe we can still look for a better direction from different starting points,” she said. “Please don’t twist my condolences into political or religious talking points ― and refrain from rude, demeaning behavior on my page.”
Seonye had uploaded the tribute on the 16th before taking it down shortly after. Kirk had been a lightning rod for controversy in life, drawing criticism for remarks viewed as derogatory toward Black people and women, as well as for pro-gun advocacy ― leading some people to call Seonye’s tribute inappropriate. Others dredged up old grievances, claiming she was “reckless” when she left Wonder Girls.
Photo: Baik Seung-Chul
(SBS Entertainment News | Kang Kyung-youn)