On Monday of last week, SM Entertainment announced the EXO’s Chen will be getting married to his fiancée who is pregnant with their first child. Chen also wrote a heartfelt note to his fans explaining that not only would he be getting married, but that he also will be receiving an extra blessing. Chen thanked his fans for their support and promised to his best in his position as he always has.
Many EXO fans, EXO-Ls were very supportive and congratulatory, letting Chen know they were happy for his marriage plans and excited about him becoming a dad. However, some fans, calling themselves EXO-L ACE were furious about Chen’s news and accused him of selfish behavior, being irresponsible and defaming the group, and they mobilized to have a physical protest with at least 200 people at the SMTOWN COEX Atrium on January 19th to try to force SM to kick Chen out of EXO.
As EXO-Ls responded in support of Chen, hashtags like #FaithInCHEN, #CHEN_STAYS, and #EXOLBelievesInEXO9 quickly trended on Twitter. EXO-Ls also called upon SM to protect their artist. In the end, only 9 or 10 of the furious EXO-L ACEs showed up for their protest. It just goes to show that love and support will trump toxic nastiness every time. It really is time we all get behind our idols and support them in having as normal and happy a life as they can. They give us all so much.
Congratulations Chen! I hope you’ll have a happy life with your new family and also enjoy delighting fans and performing with EXO for many years to come!
Photo: Korea Post
