Lee Seung Gi faces backlash for ‘Gaslighting’ trainees after hour of non-stop dancing

“Many of them were hospitalized.”

After making the “Starlight Boys” contestants dance non-stop for an hour, Lee Seung Gi earned criticism for gagging them despite the “torture.”

On October 26, the new Korean-Chinese audition show released its first episode on iQIYI and SBS. Among the 69 official candidates, they will compete against each other to secure a place in the final TOP9.

Before the show, it initially attracted attention for its star-studded lineup, such as Lee Seung Gi, BIGBANG Daesung, Kwon Eun Bi, PENTAGON Hui, The Boyz Eric, STAYC Yoon and Hanhae, as well as choreographer Choi Youngjoon.

Among the participants, Lee Hangyul also added curiosity as it will be his fourth time joining a survival show after “The Unit” and “Produce x 101”.

However, its second episode, released on November 2, became controversial due to the questionable way of selecting trainees who would move on to the next round. Instead of dancing individually, all 68 (one released before the show) were asked to simultaneously dance to the cue song.

Among these, 56 will be selected and until all places are filled, they will have to dance to the same song non-stop with a 30-second break in each round. The final trainees chose and danced for an hour, performing approximately 19 turns.

But before concluding, one of the trainees, Sun Ying Hao, couldn’t understand what he was seeing and decided to defend his fellow participants. Here he courageously stated:

“We are human beings, not machines.“

However, Lee Seung Gi, one of the veterans among the judges, quickly stood up and argued:

“Everyone, didn’t you come here to become a K-pop idol? Not to become a K-pop artist, but to become an idol by performing in front of the fans you came here for, right?”

READ ALSO: Lee Hangyul, who joined Survival Show for the fourth time, debates the debate: “It’s a shame…”

He further explained:

“During the concert, the guides (judges) perform up to 30 songs in front of the fans. This took away the audience’s right to enjoy the singer’s enthusiastic performance. If you feel tired, I understand why Sun Ying Hao said this, but we gather here to select international idol singers not to perform.

We have to keep watching because there are trainees who want to perform tirelessly and put in a lot of effort. But if you say it during the time, you will break their rhythm. Cheer and support them as they overcome fatigue, persist to the end, and deliver their best performance. Done?”

Despite seemingly good intentions as a senior, Lee Seung Gi was heavily criticized for his remark, as fans insisted that he was “gaslighting” the trainees into accepting the “torture” they suffered from the show.

This topic is timely as it was recently discussed in the state national assembly audit on how K-pop idols are overworked and forced to sign unfair contracts, which Lee Seung Gi also suffered from his recent agency, Hook Entertainment.

Criticism intensified when insiders revealed that many trainees were hospitalized after the show, including Hangyul.

With this, K-pop fans call the show via SNS, hoping that it improves in subsequent episodes and has a fair rating based on talent and not stamina.

READ MORE: Lee Seung Gi & Jung Yong Hwa Of ‘Hallyu Kings’ Go Viral After Duet Of ECLIPSE’s ‘Sudden Shower’

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Written by Eunice Dela Cruz