ZEROBASEONE’s Ricky Confesses He’s “Not Happy,” And WAKEONE Knows

He implied he didn’t design his zeroni character.

Although ZEROBASEONE (also known as ZB1) member Ricky has been a fan-favorite since Mnet‘s Boys Planet, ZEROSES (ZEROBASEONE fans) have long been concerned about WAKEONE‘s treatment of him.

240310-ZEROBASEONE-Ricky-at-Incheon-International-Airport-documents-3
ZEROBASEONE’s Ricky

Earlier in the month, ZEROSES shared their anger about the “erasure” of Ricky from ZEROBASEONE content, including Mnet’s reality show trailer and even the group chant from the KCON behind-the-scenes footage.

When they filmed CAMP ZEROBASEONE, WAKEONE seemingly forgot about the two Chinese members, Zhang Hao and Ricky. They were initially denied entry into Jeju because they did not have their passports. Koreans do not need passports to travel within Korea.

On October 31, 2023, ZEROSES were shocked by ZEROBASONE’s management’s actions during a set of live broadcasts. A manager could be heard yelling at Ricky for beginning his live broadcast without their permission, which outraged many netizens.

These are just a few examples of WAKEONE’s alleged mistreatment against Ricky specifically. Now, Ricky has implied he is unhappy at WAKEONE, and the company is well aware of this.

F3ozg0vaAAA-KX4

Previously, ZEROBASEONE and LINE FRIENDS collaborated on the members-inspired characters, zeroni.

zeroni are ZEROBASEONE’s special friends
who give cheers to the shining journey of ZB1.

9 of zeroni all have Z mark,
and this mark also represents a symbol connecting ZEROBASEONE and ZEROSE.

— LINE FRIENDS

img_spot_01_mo
| LINE FRIENDS

Ricky’s character is Rinini. Rinini appears to be an angry cat. Cat is Ricky’s represenative animal.

Recently, a ZEROSE asked Ricky to imitate Rinini’s expression during a virtual fancall. Ricky questioned why his character looked so upset. He implied that the company must have designed it knowing he was unhappy since the character is representative of him. He attempted to laugh off his comment.

ZEROSE: Can you imitate Rinini’s expression for me?

Ricky: Why does its mouth always go down? Am I so unhappy?

ZEROSE: Right… (subconsciously)

Ricky: It seems that the company also… It seems that the company also knows that I am unhappy. Ha ha.

This video went viral, with 235K views on X (formerly Twitter) at the time of writing. ZEROSES questioned if Ricky was even part of Rinini’s creative process. Other members previously claimed that they had assisted in designing their characters, and previous LINE FRIENDS collaborations, such as BTS‘s BT21, were created with the idols’ participation. Additionally, a previously released LINE FRIENDS’ zeroni image that showcased doodles of the characters featured Rinini with a smile.

Recently, ZEROBASEONE allegedly “protested” at their recent fanmeeting. Read more below.

ZEROBASEONE On Strike? Members “Protest” At Their Fanmeeting

Idols Done Dirty

Scroll to top