Wonho Has Left Monsta X — And K-Pop Fans Already Want Him Back
Our little K-Pop hearts are broken!
Instagram Even if you don't know who Monsta X is, you're undoubtedly aware that K-Pop is the hottest musical genre in the United States today. Fans of the genre are rabid, to say the least, and they put Beatlemania to shame. So who is Wonho, and why are Monsta X fans so devastated?
A product of the South Korean reality competition show, No Mercy, Monsta X first came to prominence all the way back in 2015. Their single, "Spotlight," was certified gold by the RIAA thanks to their sales in Japan. They'll be performing for three shows at iHeartRadio's Jingle Ball — making them the first K-Pop band to do so — and they're slowly, but surely, deposing BTS as the top-ranked K-Pop band in the United States.
But recently, Starship Entertainment — the management company that handles Monsta X — announced that member Wonho would be leaving the group "based on recent allegations." Here's what we know about what's going on.
1. The official announcement of Wonho's department was made on Starship Entertainment's Twitter page.
The announcement was made in both Korean and English. Check it out below. It basically says that Wonho and Monsta X are parting ways amicably so that recent events he was a part of (that are not specified) won't distract from all of the things that Monsta X has going on .
2. Wonho seems to be at peace with the decision to leave.
"I sincerely thank you for making precious memories for me. To the members who worked hard with me and stayed with me, I would like to tell them that I’m thankful and that I love them. [I would also like to show them] my apologetic heart. The members have nothing to do with me. I carefully ask that you at least give support and encouragement to the members. They are people who are too good to stop and get hurt like this because of someone like me. I am so thankful and apologetic to the staff, members, and lastly our fans who have allowed me to enjoy such happiness until this point," he said in a statement, according to Billboard.
3. It was a series of events that caused Wonho to depart from Monsta X.
According to Elite Daily, Wonho was subjected to a series of controversies surrounding his decision to leave Monsta X. Depending on who you believe, he was either forced out, or told, basically, "leave or get fired." Regardless, there was no official word to the reasoning behind his departure.
4. Fans are protesting his departure.
Newsweek reports that fans were so devastated about Wonho's departure that they made the #WonhoWeLoveYou hashtag trend on Twitter for the whole day that his departure was announced.
5. Fans are even petitioning Starship Entertainment to reinstate Wonho.
Because there's a petition for everything these days, a different report for Newsweek suggests that fans of Monsta X have gone so far as to start a petition to have him reinstated. "Many Monsta X fans—collectively known as "Monbebe" meaning "my baby" in French — have also expressed their disapproval of Wonho's exit by calling on Starship Entertainment (Monsta X's management company) to reconsider the decision of his departure," reported the outlet.
6. But it doesn't look like that will be happening.
As of right now, even though the band is scheduled to perform at Jingle Ball in New York City, it doesn't look like Wonho will be reinstated to the band. This is a developing story.
Bernadette Giacomazzo is an editor, writer, and photographer whose work has appeared in People, Teen Vogue, Us Weekly, The Source, XXL, HipHopDX, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Post, and more. She is also the author of The Uprising series. For more information about Bernadette Giacomazzo, click here.