The viral video has over 1.7 million views.
Koreaboo
In 2019, Onodela Popko from Asterisk East went viral in Japan for cursing out her members while recounting the bullying she faced behind the scenes.
Idol Who Was Bullied By Her Members Gets Sweet, Sweet “Revenge”
Yet, it has recently resurfaced after she posted the video again.
In the clip, the former idol explained that during an event, she was trying to expose her members for bullying her, but they cut the microphone off. As she continued to speak, while there was no microphone, she said her piece before explaining that she walked off stage after saying she was going solo.
@_onodela a lot of people asked, so here’s the full video. i was an idol back then, and i was being bullied by the other members. one day, right before our concert started, the manager suddenly told me i wouldn’t be going on stage. i was so upset that i ran out anyway and told everyone the truth. #idol #japaneseidol #kpopidol #jpopidol #fyp
♬ original sound – onodela
Fans were left shocked by the bullying culture within idol groups but also disgusted at the members’ reactions, who almost seemed amused by the outburst.
Following the video going viral, Onodela posted a new video recounting the horrific and heartbreaking details of the bullying.
@_onodela these are just some of the things i went through back then. but i’m happy to say i’ve moved on, i’m better now #storytime #idol #jpopidol #idoldrama #kpopidol #fyp #viral #japanesegirl #japaneseidol
♬ Demon – PiNKII & Airfox & Phonkdope
In the video, Onodela explained that although she was younger than the other three, she had trained longer but they had caused issues from the start.
Before I debuted, although I trained longer with that company than the other three members, because they were the older members of that group, they kept blocking me from getting debuted. In the end, my debut was pushed back by a couple of months. When we were training together, the three of them always stuck together.
— Onodela
She then shared specific examples of the three members ganging up on her and treating her badly, from trying to make her look unprofessional to even making her lose opportunities.
So, for most of the time, I was alone and didn’t really know what was going on. Sometimes, they would give me the wrong practice time, so I ended up showing up late and looking unprofessional. One time, our concert schedule got moved and no one told me. Eventually, I found out through the organizer of the concert but not from my team. There was one time I remember clearly. It was once when I got the best position in a song, but the next day they went to the company together and complained about it. Eventually I got changed, and I only ended up with a tiny part of the song.
—Onodela
Bullying is something that has been prominent for years in the idol industry, but more are calling it out.
