PETALING JAYA, Jan 21 — K-pop singer Sakura became the target of hate comments online after saying it would be “impossible” for her to continue working as an idol while being married.
The 22-year-old, who is a member of the Japanese-Korean group Iz*One, made the comments while hosting a show on radio station Bay FM, where a listener wrote in with a story about how a former idol they used to support ended up marrying the listener’s ex-classmate.
Sakura, whose full name is Sakura Miyawaki, said she disliked the idea of continuing her idol career after marriage because she believes that idols cannot belong to a single person.
“As for me, I could not continue being an idol after marriage.
“After all, there is an unspoken rule about idols not being anyone’s possession.
“I think announcing your marriage and continuing being an idol is impossible for me, I don’t think I can do it myself,” said Sakura, based on translations by Twitter user @szee1907.
She added that she would give up her idol career for good when the time comes for her to get married.
The translations sparked anger on Twitter after fans of the K-pop boyband Exo saw Sakura’s comments as an insult to member Chen, who got hitched in a shotgun wedding last year.
Hate tweets directed at Sakura began to pour in but Iz*One fans quickly rallied together to defend her, saying that her words had been taken out of context and that she was merely expressing a personal opinion.
The hashtag #ApologizeToSakura topped the Malaysian Twitter trends list this afternoon with more than 25,700 tweets at the time of writing.
sakura is one of the most open minded idols out there. she's not afraid to express her thoughts and that's why i really look up to her. we love you 🌸#ApologizeToSakura pic.twitter.com/XThFeCA1Ss
— trix (@izonesfeather) January 21, 2021
What I love about Sakura is her being open-minded and not afraid of stating her opinions on topics that seem to be sensitive for an idol. She is frank with her feelings and views. I want her to stay as who she is and be true to herself. #ApologizeToSakura pic.twitter.com/QVWDLuYR1d
— はる|咲良単推し³⁹ (@TSaku1339) January 21, 2021
It won't even take a genius to know that the first person pronouns are there for a reason. It's her opinion, and there are plausible reasons for her to view things this way. You just simply took her words out of context just to fit your narrative. #ApologizeToSakura pic.twitter.com/jzV1Nnp0zN
— cess ♡︎ IZ*ONE (@izonefied48) January 21, 2021
