It has only been a day since Seunghan announced his departure from RIIZE, however, the group has already lost thousands of followers across their various social media accounts. This isn't a surprise as international BRIIZE banded together with fans of other K-pop acts to launch a massive movement to show their support for Seunghan and displeasure towards SM Entertainment's decision.
RIIZE lose followers, K-pop fandoms launch boycott
As of October 14, RIIZE has lost over 168K followers across Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). While the the group’s Instagram followers dropped from 4.158 million to 4.046 million, their X account lost 63K followers. Their TikTok account also faced a decrease, with 83K fans unfollowing them.
But why are fans unfollowing RIIZE across social media? It is to protest Seunghan's removal from the group. Not only did BRIIZE unfollow RIIZE across social media, the fandom have also been actively protesting under the hashtags 'Bring Back Seunghan’, ‘SMsupportsbullying' and more. The social media movement gained a new momentum after fans of numerous K-pop artists joined BRIIZE to show support for Seunghan.
Seunghan leaves RIIZE
Just two days after SM Entertainment announced that Seunghan would be re-joining RIIZE following his 10-month long hiatus, the label shared that he had decided to depart from the group on October 13. “Seunghan has expressed his intention to leave the team for the members and fans. We respect the artist’s decision, and we would like to inform you that Seunghan has left the RIIZE, not joined again,” the official statement read.
ALSO READ: Ex-RIIZE's Seunghan Seeks Comfort In Fan Support Project After Passing By 1000 Funeral Wreaths Sent Against Him
For the unversed, Seunghan had been on a hiatus since November 2023 as he was embroiled in multiple controversies after pre-debut pics and clips of him surfaced online. In the leaked media, the former RIIZE member could be seen smoking, hanging out with girls and allegedly badmouthing another K-pop idol.