Seven members of the eight-member group ANS have quit the agency ANS Entertainment after one of the team members, Haena, accused them of bullying. In a detailed letter the seven members explained how pathetically they were being treated by their agency.
ANS member Haena had accused the seven members -- Lina, Royeon, Dalyn, Raon, Bian and Dam I -- of bullying her. The seven members have refuted these claims and have quit the agency by terminating their contract. The news was confirmed after all the posts of ANS group were deleted from their fansite. Currently the only thing in display on the ANS fansite is the statement given out by Lina, Royeon, Dalyn, Raon, Bian, and Dam I.
The statement starts with the fact that the seven members do not want their fans to have any misunderstanding due to their actions. They stated that their decision stemmed up from their issue with the agency and Haena.
ANS Entertainment Cuts off Facilities, Salary
They said that the ANS Entertainment had dismissed almost all of their staff including their manager in two levels in March and April, 2020. Since then the team was forced to work without a manager. The agency also closed its office on June 14, 2020 making the team members to move their boarding house from Shinsadong to Gimpo. The team also did not have any practice studio in Gimpo.
Without a manager the members had to plan their schedules and manage their fansite themselves. They had to travel in one vehicle and sometime even asked to take a taxi. Despite these adversities the team also took part in a fan meeting. They said that the staff members who were removed from the agency helped them in making the meeting successful.
Speaking about payment, the team said that each member received only $8 per day for meals that too only on weekdays. The agency stopped giving them vocal lessons as the representatives said that they did not have the money for classes.
But as the team cannot disappoint their fans, the seven members hired a legal representative and sent a statement to the agency requesting them to follow through with their contract. The team of seven asked the agency to provide them a manager for the group, company office space, dance and vocal lessons. The legal terms stated that if the agency fails to provide these basic amenities within 14 days they will take legal action.
Truth About Haena Bullying Controversy
The agency responded negatively and even threatened the mother of one of the seven members. It was then the issue of Haena accusing the seven members of bullying her arose. The agency notified them that Haena was admitted to the hospital. Just before the letter of the termination was sent to the agency, the content with Haena being bullied was posted on Haena's Instagram account.
The seven members stated that they did not have any special problems with Haena who joined the team in December of 2019 as the youngest member. In fact, the group did not have many promotional activities due to company's situation, and thus did not spend much time with Haena.
"The only conflict we had with Haena was when we convinced her to go back to school when she decided not to go anymore after being tested for the coronavirus," the members said. She was later tested negative for COVID-19.
Haena had missed too many classes and even her graduation ceremony. Homeroom teacher had contacted the team members and informed them about the same. The homeroom teacher had said that Haena had given the reason of promotional work with agency as the reason for her absence from the school. The team decided to take up the matter with Haena and called her to a café to talk. The team asked her to go back to school and one of the members told her lying is not a good habit. They clarified that none of the seven members cursed her or even raised their voice against Haena.
After a while, Haena stopped replying to them. "Then on June 12th, she contacted two members saying 'I'm in a mentally difficult state so I couldn't reply. I'm sorry. I will contact you after I get better,' in a message," said the team.
"In fact, Haena was having a hard time because of the unclear future due to the agency's circumstances. She also revealed that she was financially having difficulties because we were not receiving any monetary support from the company," the team stated in their post.
They have also said that they are still ready to sort out issues with Haena in case there is any misunderstanding. But the team also told that fans that they might not be one team in the future.
"Even if we continue our careers in the entertainment industry, we're not sure if we all can continue as a team. We knew that this would happen but had no choice but to terminate our contract with the company," post from Lina, Royeon, Dalyn, Raon, Bian, and Dam I from ANS read.
