Recently, the two female idols Minji and Haerin of NewJeans attracted attention when appearing in a photo taken at a dinner party on May 22, commemorating the collaboration between Nike and Hyein Seo.
The NewJeans member was a guest. They sat at a luxurious table with glasses of wine in front of them.
Minji and Haerin's presence at Nike's event is not uncommon, as NewJeans was previously one of the brand's ambassadors.
However, the image of a NewJeans member holding a glass of wine caused controversy.
Because in the third hearing on the group's exclusive contract dispute with ADOR Company held on July 24, NewJeans' lawyer revealed: "The members are psychologically affected. Just passing by HYBE headquarters can cause my heart to beat faster and I have to take depression medication.
A post on the online community Pann Nate shared a photo of Minji and Haerin drinking wine at a meal and commented: I heard NewJeans taking depression medication. Drinking alcohol while taking medication is really not good."
The post attracted more than 137,000 views and received many favorable opinions. Some viewers after seeing this photo doubted NewJeans' statement in the hearing. They questioned whether the news that NewJeans members had to take depression medication was credible.
In addition, there are also opinions defending NewJeans. One comment reads: " Taking depression medication does not mean you should never drink alcohol. The doctor only recommends that you stop taking the medicine that day if you plan to drink alcohol. Of course, there can still be side effects, but don't rush to conclude based on this."
A netizen said that Nike's party took place 2 months ago, so it is unreasonable to suspect that NewJeans' statement through this photo.
Other comments expressed regret for NewJeans. This 5-member girl group achieved great success after only 1 year of debut, with a series of hits such as "Attention", "Hype Boy", "Ditto", "Super Shy", "ETA"...
However, due to the legal battle with ADOR, NewJeans has now had to temporarily suspend operations, gradually losing their reputation and being turned away by the public.
The contract lawsuit between NewJeans and management company ADOR (under HYBE Group) arose from HYBE's surprise audit of ADOR in April 2024. At that time, HYBE accused CEO Min Hee Jin and her colleagues of plotting to take control of ADOR and take NewJeans out of ADOR.
In August 2024, Min Hee Jin was fired. NewJeans repeatedly requested Min Hee Jin to return to the CEO position but was not approved.
By the end of November 2024, all 5 NewJeans members (Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin, Hyein) held a press conference, announcing the termination of their contracts with ADOR, citing ADOR's breach of contract obligations.
In response, ADOR has filed a lawsuit to confirm the validity of the exclusive contract with NewJeans.
In previous hearings, NewJeans has always been determined not to return to ADOR because the trust between the group and the company has been completely broken.
In the third hearing, NewJeans stated that they would only return to ADOR if the company could return to its current state before the April 2024 audit, when Min Hee Jin was still CEO.
