HYBE is facing backlash after announcing a new global girl group featuring former Dream Academy stars Emily, Samara, and Lexie.
The group, PRELUDE: The Final Piece, will add its final member through a survival show. An intro film for the project dropped on August 29 (KST), giving fans a first look.
The controversy began when KATSEYE—HYBE’s current rookie girl group—retweeted the intro video. Fans exploded online, accusing HYBE of using KATSEYE to promote the new group without consulting the members. Many noted the timing was insensitive, especially given past racism allegations against Samara.
Netizens slammed the move, saying it made Dream Academy seem pointless if several contestants already had guaranteed debuts with HYBE. Others criticized the use of KATSEYE’s social channels to hype a rival group.
Fans hit back hard, telling KATSEYE’s team:
“it’s not too late to delete”
and
“girl read the room”
One tweet summed up the frustration:
“Taking the absolute piss. The Katz got the shitty end of the documentary, just so those girls could debut anyway, used the mean girls visualiser to promote their new group and now their socials.”
Some even suspected KATSEYE’s account was hacked after the retweet, demanding an explanation.
HYBE has yet to comment on the backlash as the situation gains traction.
PRELUDE: The Final Piece includes Emily, Samara, and Lexie, all former Dream Academy members. Fans expect the survival show to pick the final addition to the lineup.
Watch the intro film below, posted August 28 by the project’s official Twitter:
PRELUDE: THE FINAL PIECE – Intro Film
watch now: https://t.co/SmhsEWfb1V
— prelude_thefinalpiece (@preludethefinal)
The drama around HYBE’s promo tactics shows no signs of cooling down. Fans are monitoring the situation closely.
