NCT Taeyong has been the center of another controversy but, this time around, it is about bullying a classmate during his middle school years. SM Entertainment released a statement on the matter and denied the incident.
The new allegation against Taeyong stemmed from an article posted on a social-networking genealogy website called Wikitree, which stated Taeyong got involved in bullying when he was in middle school. The person who posted the article, only identified as "B," claimed that Taeyong participated in bullying of his classmate to the point that the victim harmed himself.
Wikitree also shared a chat conversation between "B" and another participant in the bullying, who allegedly confirmed that they remembered the said incident in middle school. "B" added that the K-pop idol only treated his fellow students well if they are popular and attractive.
The post on Wikitree has been deleted since. However, a former SM Entertainment trainee came out to share his story about Taeyong. Former SM Entertainment trainee Minwoo shared on his Instagram Story the screenshots of Wikitree articles and revealed what he knows about the NCT singer.
"I've been watching him since my trainee days and all of these are facts. His personality is really sh**. Stop protecting him already," he wrote in the caption.
Now, NCT agency, SM Entertainment, answered all accusations about their talent. SM noted that, upon checking on Taeyong's family and his middle school student records, there was no mention that the singer participated in bullying a student nor a record of any disciplinary action from the school. The agency added that Taeyong's parents never had a meeting with his teachers or the parents of the alleged victim with regards to the accusation mentioned in the article.
SM stressed that Taeyong regretted his behavior when he was young, including the hurtful things that he had said to others. SM stated that the NCT 127 leader had already apologized to everyone he was hurt in the past and continues to self-reflect and work hard.
The label was referring to the time when the 24-year-old idol apologized for his involvement in scams on online trading sites before his debut. In 2016, Taeyong cried on their show NCT Life: Pep Rally when he apologized for the scamming scandal.
The recent negative story about Taeyong came ahead of the debut of his new group, SuperM. The new boy group of SM Entertainment is set to drop their first mini-album on October 4. Aside from Taeyong, the group also consists of EXO members Kai and Baekhyun, SHINee's Taemin, and his fellow NCT members Mark, Ten, and Lucas.
