Kep1er’s Huening Bahiyyih Sees The Hate She’s Receiving, Her Uncle Reputedly Reveals
Less than a week ago, Mnet‘s survival show Girls Planet 999 came to an end, and the lineup for Kep1er was finally decided. Naturally, every viewer had their own ideal lineup in mind, but one winning contestant seems to be facing a particularly high amount of hate—Huening Bahiyyih. Of course, these hate comments don’t exist in a bubble; now, Bahiyyih’s uncle has allegedly revealed she’s actually aware of the negativity surrounding her.
Before Girls Planet 999 even began airing, Bahiyyih quickly became one of the most discussed contestants because of her world-famous brother—TXT‘s Hueningkai. However, over the course of the show, Bahiyyih proved to many viewers that she’s more than just Hueningkai’s sibling, charming fans with her talents and personality.
That said, her rank still remained relatively low compared to many other popular contestants. By the penultimate Girls Planet 999 episode, Bahiyyih ranked 13th overall, leading many to believe she wouldn’t make it into the final nine-member lineup.
But when the show switched to a one-pick voting system, Bahiyyih’s fans voted hard. When the final lineup was announced, Bahiyyih became the 2nd member of Kep1er with 923,567 points and the most votes out of all the finalists.
Sadly, the announcement quickly led to an outpouring of hate towards 17-year-old Bahiyyih. Just days ago, fans called on her agency—Play M Entertainment—to address malicious comments after a Korean Twitter Space audio recording filled with cruel remarks was leaked. “Won’t you feel like it’s deserving even if she gets outcast?” said one netizen, while another was heard saying, “I guess getting cursed at is also a position.”
And, while many may assume idols never come across the hate comments said about them online, that definitely isn’t the case for Bahiyyih. In fact, her uncle recently revealed quite the opposite. Uncle Vincent Huening (who is very publicly supportive of Bahiyyih, Hueningkai, and sister Lea online) reputedly responded to a fan by the name of @HIYYIHNAVVAB on Twitter explaining the situation.
In DMs said to be from Vincent Huening’s official Facebook account (which @HIYYIHNAVVAB was given permission to share) Bahiyyih’s uncle revealed, “Bahiyyih knew about the controversy and the negativity during GP999,” confirming that the Kep1er star is aware of the hate comments surrounding her.
Thankfully, despite her young age, it seems Bahiyyih is dealing with the negativity well. Uncle Huening says the hate hasn’t broken her confidence, adding, “In fact, she got even better as the show progressed.” He went on to say that he doesn’t think the “current attacks” against Bahiyyih will have a genuine effect on her career over the course of Kep1er’s two-and-a-half-year contract.
In another alleged DM to @HIYYIHNAVVAB, Vincent Huening said, “I know it feels awful to think that [Bahiyyih’s] or her siblings’ feelings will be hurt, but all three of them are confident in their abilities and talents.”
Instead, he urged Bahiyyih’s fans (known as “Hiyyihlights”) to continue streaming Bahiyyih’s fancams and group videos from Girls Planet 999 and focus on supporting her going forward.
Soon there will be more reasons to love and admire Bahiyyih.
— Vincent Huening
Uncle Vincent Huening also posted a comment on his Facebook page to help Hiyyihlights (as well as Hueningkai’s “Ningdungies” and Lea’s “Leamons”) through the difficulties of the hate. “For the final GP999 Top 9 to have made it where they are, the fans of 90 girls have had to experience disappointment and frustration,” he said, explaining that due to her “famous brother backstory,” Bahiyyih is the “easiest target” for them to vent these frustrations.
Bahiyyih’s uncle added that these people “might never become fans of [Kep1er]—regardless of whether Bahiyyih is in the group.” As such, he says Hiyyihlights should not bother attempting to win them over, and instead hope that the hate will dissipate in the future.
Huening Bahiyyih and her fellow Kep1er members are rumored to debut together sometime in December this year. Play M Entertainment is yet to issue any statement on whether they plan to pursue legal action against malicious commenters, but WAKEONE Entertainment (the agency co-managing Kep1er) has asked fans to submit any hate or defamation they see to their headquarters.
