SOPHIE UNDER FIRE FOR SIGNING A CONTRACT WITH STARCAST ENTERTAINMENT AND HOLDING “ A CHRISTMAS TALE “
On December 17, Starcast Entertainment and Sophie confirmed that the former girlgroup member signed a contract with the company and will now be a soloist under the label. They also stated that Sophie will be holding a Christmas concert on December 22, resulting in mixed reactions by the public considering the company’s CEO.
Many people claim that after Mellow’s disbandment, Starcast Entertainment only approached Sophie because, after marrying Oh Sehun, the CEO of the company became her father in law. Sophie is accused of not being talented enough to get into another company with her skills and rather has to rely on personal connections. Additionally to these claims, Sophie was able to hold a Christmas concert only a few days after she signed the contract. Despite the success and good cause of the event, the public is now mostly talking about how it makes the situation look like there is a bias for the now turned soloist within the company considering she was able to be active right after signing. Many netizen also add that Sophie didn’t have to work as hard as other idols in the idol busines for her success. According to older interviews, Sophie’s time as a trainee was only three months long and people criticize that she didn’t have to practice as long to receive the chance of debuting in a group as other trainees. The former triple lead of Mellow also gained popularity for having two solo albums during her time with Mellow, making people believe that because she has been spoiled by her company once, she will now be spoiled again, especially with her husband being the CEO in training.
Sophie is also under fire for letting Yoda perform at her concert, “ A Christmas Tale “. Netizen claim that she should have considered the ongoing scandal about the male soloist’s sexuality and removed him from the line up, claiming that she must be problematic for putting her new label in this position.
A speaker of Starcast Entertainment stated regarding the situation: “ It is true that Sophie is the CEO’s daughter in law but in no way was the decision to offer her a position in the company made on a bias or family business. During her career Sophie has proven many times that she is a talented young woman with a bright future ahead, hence why we acted quickly once we got to know about her group’s disbandment. She didn’t give an answer right away because she knew it would stir up controversies and she has been offered solo positions by other companies as well, but as an artist, Sophie has the right to choose the company she trusts the most- which in this case was Starcast Entertainment. She asked for the chance plan her own concert and we agreed, not because she is family to the CEO but because she came to us with an almost fully developed plan she created herself. We just had to add our specialists to look into her plan and perfect it, and then execute it. This is exactly why the CEO wanted her to be a part of the Starcast family. She is a very hardworking woman with ambitions and we hope that is who people will see. ” Sophie didn’t release an official statement regarding the issue yet.
