BOYS24's Hwayoung faced a lot of criticizm last week after an audio clip of him slating fans leaked online. (Photo : YouTube/Abiz - Entertainment Buzz)
BOYS24's Hwayoung has been kicked out of the boy band in the wake of his recent controversy statements. The group's agency, CJ E&M, announced that the idol will be booted from the group following his disgusting statements about fans that were exposed in an audio clip that leaked last week.
Hwayoung sparked backlash from fans after he was heard trashing fans in a leaked audio clip that surfaced online. In the clip, the idol can be heard making several offensive statements like how he hates being called 'oppa' by fans.
In the recording, the idol also mentions that he detests hi-touch sessions with fans because of the fact that they have to meet and greet as many as 700 or 800 fans by holding their hands. The most damaging part of the audio clip was when Hwayoung added that fans make him want to throw up because their breath smells terrible.
Shortly after the audio file was leaked, CJ E&M issued an official statement obtained by Soompi. In the statement, the agency apologized for Hwayoung's insensitive remarks and stated that he had received warnings about his privacy issues and maintaining the reputation of BOYS24 on more than one occasion in the past but he let them down.
Now, in a separate statement obtained by Koreaboo, the agency apologized for the incident once again and announced that Hwayoung will permanently be removed from the group. The agency added that Hwayoung's contract will be terminated with immediate effect.
"We would like to inform everyone that Hwayoung has been removed from BOYS24 and that his contract will be terminated," the agency said in the statement. "This has been decided due to the same reason we mentioned in our statement on the 8th. We are concerned that his controversy may tarnish the image of the entire group of BOYS24 and twist the true feelings of the other members towards the fans who support and cheer them on at every performance in which they do their utter best to perform."
Listen to Hwayoung's leaked audio conversation in the video below:
