Stray Kids Bang Chan's Response To Hate Comments Targeting Other Groups

Stray Kids‘ Bang Chan‘s candid conversation with STAYs earned attention for its important message for all K-Pop fans. He addressed hate comments aimed not at Stray Kids but at other groups.

240208-bang-chan-for-nylon-japan — Stray Kids’ Bang Chan | *NYLON Japan*

In addition to his weekly Chan’s Room broadcasts, Bang Chan hosts TikTok lives, where he answers fan questions and chats about his life. Fans look forward to the personal time with Stray Kids’ leader, as he often chats in Korean and English to connect with fans globally.

During one of these lives, Bang Chan was reading comments when he came across one that said, “We must protect Stray Kids.” After reading it aloud, he reacted to the statement with a very thoughtful response.

I’m actually really glad that we have STAYs beside us. We have STAYs watching out for us and stuff, but sometimes after watching the stuff that you guys do, I wanted to say that it’s always good… we’re grateful for you guys trying to protect us, right? But protecting us should be the only thing that you do, but downgrading others is something you should not do.

— Bang Chan

Passionate fans can be found for various topics including sports, celebrities, music, television, films, and much more. K-Pop fans are often extremely passionate, and understandably so; it’s what helps fuel the industry’s global expansion, and there’s a lot to be passionate about!

With K-Pop artists now able to personally interact with a larger number of fans globally than ever before through social media and apps such as Bubble and Weverse, there are even more opportunities for fans to foster a deeper connection with their favorite artists.

Stray Kids during a live broadcast in 2020

Through this connection and the media released by K-Pop artists nearly daily, fans can see more of artists’ everyday life. From the physical hard work and sweat that goes into choreography practice, to long nights in the studio writing songs and recording vocals, to the exhaustion behind-the-scenes as groups complete difficult schedules to make the most out of promotional periods; there’s no end to witnessing the dedication it takes on the path to becoming a top star and staying on top.

This ability to see the process and dedication of artists adds another level of appreciation and love from fans, which can lead to a feeling of wanting to protect the artists they see working so tirelessly. This can sometimes lead to fans defending artists from comments made by other fandoms or, at times, leads to netizens leaving negative comments about other groups. This issue happens in every fandom; it is not specific to one. Seeing the statement during his live broadcast allowed Bang Chan to comment on this issue while he had the opportunity.

(From left to right) Stray Kids’ Lee Know, I.N, Felix, Bang Chan, Han (crouched down), Changbin (standing), Seungmin, and Hyunjin | *@Stray_Kids/Twitter*

Bang Chan continued,

You’re going to ruin your own image, you’re going to ruin our image too… let’s keep our Stray Kids and STAY image as nice as it can be. So yeah, protecting us is good, downgrading others is not good. Because that’s not going to fix anything, that’s not going to do anything good.

— Bang Chan

He then related to the feelings people could have when they consider making negative comments and shared his own example,

Even if something really, really agitates you and you’re like, ‘oh my gosh, how could you say this? I am going to say so much bad stuff.’ Just don’t do that. I know it’s annoying, I know it’s really, really agitating… but, for the long-run, if you start something, if you fight back you’re becoming the same person. It’s not going to make you any different.

— Bang Chan

He opened up about advice his father once gave him,

My dad taught me, ‘sometimes it’s good to lose to win.’ Sometimes it’s good to just ignore things and don’t care about anything.

— Bang Chan

He then shared that the best advice is to just let it go while admitting he also struggles with letting things go, especially when something makes his fellow members uncomfortable, or if someone offends them. Fans praised Bang Chan for addressing the issue, with STAYs and possible future STAYs sharing their appreciation to Bang Chan for thoughtfully voicing his opinion and giving advice on a topic that can be difficult to talk about without perpetuating the problem at times.

Comment
byu/hombrx from discussion
inkpopthoughts

So much respect for Chan. He constantly calls out what he expects of stays & isn’t afraid to hold us accountable to our actions. Degrading others to lift up your favs is never ok & is something we all should remember. He is always working to create a respectful fan base. https://t.co/mX1JwEVdYN

— Melanie Reacts (@melaniereactsyt) October 22, 2022

Bang Chan is known for speaking up about important issues and using his platform to spread positivity. He’s also known to be his group’s protective and caring leader. His courage to speak up continues to impress and warm the hearts of fans.

Check out the article below for more light-hearted content from his TikTok live!