Recently, the couple Hoang Tu Thao and Tu Nghe Duong attracted attention when they had a passionate kiss on the stage of the New Year's music festival of Hunan Radio (China), taking place on the evening of December 31, 2025.
The romantic performance of the newlywed couple caused a social media storm and became one of the highlights of the event, but angered the fan community of Prince Thao.
The reason is that, in the rehearsal before the event, there were rumors that Hoang Tu Thao and Tu Nghe Duong were kissing. Fandom asked Hoang Tu Thao's studio whether this news was true or false.
After receiving feedback from the studio, on the morning of December 31, Hoang Tu Thao's fandom account spoke out to defend his idol, correcting this as untrue news.
But at the official festival night that night, Hoang Tu Thao and Tu Nghe Duong actually kissed each other, making fans very shocked. Many people think that Hoang Tu Thao turned fans into "fun".
On January 1st, the studio of the male artist spoke out to apologize to the fandom, explaining that there was a misunderstanding. According to the studio, when the keyword "revealing the scene of Hoang Tu Thao and Tu Nghe Duong kissing each other on the New Year's Eve stage" climbed to the top, the studio thought that this was a keyword describing the rehearsal, showing signs of exaggeration and over-interpretation. Therefore, the studio informed the fandom that this keyword was incorrect.
The studio's initial intention was to explain that the keyword did not match the general rehearsal situation. But due to the studio's mistake, it caused a harmful misunderstanding.
This explanation could not soothe the fandom, Hoang Tu Thao was accused of "disrespecting fans". Other opinions criticized this as "ridiculous media form".
Fans frankly said: "I can accept my idol getting married, but I can't stand the fact that I show off my feelings to Tu Nghe Duong all year round".
Previously, the couple had repeatedly angered fans. They participated in variety shows together, cooperated in business projects, and even continuously appeared on daily advertising videos. Fans believe that Prince Thao has let personal love affairs dominate his work.
Fans follow Hoang Tu Thao because of the performances and works, not to watch the "couple's reality show".
The money fans spend is to support the profession of idols, not to pay for the couple's love PR trick. This excessive communication erodes fans' trust and harms the reputation of idols.
The lack of transparency from idol management companies has become a topic of debate. Many people agree with the view that fans have the right to know their idol's work plans, understand the intentions behind communication strategies, and not be hiding information and becoming a laughing stock on the internet.
What needs to be cautious is the boundary of the "duo business" model. Personal feelings are private, while business is public, blurring the boundary between these two things may be counterproductive.
The relationship between idols and fans is also never one-way love, but two-way trust. If trust cannot be built, fans cannot be kept.
