Popular SM Rookie Already Faces Smoking, Clubbing And Dating Allegations Before Debut — Netizens Debunk
Ahead of the debut of its new boy group, SM Entertainment has already begun introducing the possible members that may debut through the pre-debut SM Rookies team. Through the years, many of SM’s top idols were introduced as SM Rookies before their actual group debuts.
The new SM Rookies team (SMR 25) has already made their first public appearance, performing at the latest SMTOWN concerts. The rookies have recently begun being introduced by their names, starting with a general introduction video.
However, it appears that one of the trainees has already had smoking and dating rumors arise from an alleged anti-fan.
On April 2, images alleged to be of trainee Nicholas surfaced online. The first of the images allegedly showed Nicholas at a club with a lit cigarette in hand, with what appeared to be a username tag.
The second image allegedly showed Nicholas with an unidentified woman.
I’m in a group chat, and I found old photos of our SM trainee. He was kissing a girl, going to clubs, and smoking… What kind of idol is this? Is this the American style? He hasn’t even debuted yet, and he’s already acting like a fool…
— OP
The original poster of the images has since deleted the allegations, but netizens were quick to discover the true sources of the photos. The clubbing image is part of a set shared on an account from XHS in 2024, that included no mention of Nicholas.
The second image was discovered to be altered from the original.
Netizens commented on the altered images, questioning why someone would do this to a trainee that has not yet debuted.
- “Why are people going this far with a trainee? Seriously, it’s disgusting…”
- “Stop stepping on someone who hasn’t even debuted yet. You’ll get hit with karma. Looks like someone’s writing up a document.”
- “But really, why are they doing this? Seriously, why…? Why are they putting in so much effort to edit photos and ruin him? And for a trainee who hasn’t even debuted? There are really some unbelievable people in this world.”
