C-pop idol quits group 2 days after debut when alleged vulgar messages were revealed

He made his debut, caused an uproar, and then quit his group, all within the span of two days.

Times Fengjun (TF) Entertainment, the Chinese company behind popular C-pop band TF Boys, debuted a boy band T.O.P on Aug 26 following their survival show Transform Project, and initially, Yu Yuhan was one of the six members.

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According to Chinese media, however, netizens were less than pleased when photos of the 18-year-old showing his middle finger emerged.

A screenshot of messages showing someone, allegedly Yuhan, making lewd comments about Ive's Wonyoung also made their rounds on the internet, enraging netizens.

While fans might have expected TF Entertainment to refute the allegations, they instead made a statement on Aug 28 that Yuhan had left the group.

It read: "Yu Yuhan, an artist under our label, has recently incurred negative public opinion due to controversy caused by his debut as a member of a group. He is facing huge mental and psychological pressure.

"Out of consideration for the group and its other members, Yu Yuhan has repeatedly asked the company to withdraw from T.O.P."

TF Entertainment continued that they would take legal action against netizens who have been involved in "illegal theft of private information, infringement of privacy rights, creating rumours and defamation" against Yuhan through "digitally modified photos, screenshots and out-of-context quotes".

"Yu Yuhan will withdraw from T.O.P as of today, and the group will continue to operate as a five-member team."

Yuhan also deleted all references and photos of him being part of T.O.P from Weibo and changed his display name to include "TF Family" as a prefix, seemingly returning to being a trainee under the company.

Meanwhile, Transform Project's Weibo and Instagram pages posted an updated photo of the group with the remaining five members.

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drimac@asiaone.com

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