Netizens were in complete disagreement.
HYBE boy group ENHYPEN has sparked some unexpected controversy with their acceptance speech at the 2025 MAMAs.
On November 27, KST, the group made history by winning the “Visa Fans’ Choice Award,” one of the Daesangs or Grand Prizes given out on the night. ENHYPEN is now the only fourth-generation boy group to win a Daesang at MAMAs.
During this historical moment, the members were seen getting emotional, which was also reflected in their acceptance speech. However, a part of that speech became a hot topic online after one of the members thanked HYBE founder Bang Si Hyuk.
jungwon’s daesang acceptance speech 🥹#JUNGWON #정원 #ENHYPEN #MAMA2025
🐈: i think this is really the first time in my life, even after debuting, that i’ve truly wished for something this much. engenes, thank you so much. i can’t fully express it in words, but i’m really… pic.twitter.com/THvnmXG3Xl
— cel (@yjwszn) November 28, 2025
While speaking his piece, Jungwon mentioned Bang, thanking him for not treating the group as “products.”
Producer Bang Si Hyuk, Kim Tae Ho, thank you for treating us not as products or business assets, but for respecting us as individual human beings, and for always guiding us toward becoming good people.
— Jungwon
This remark by Jungwon has been met with public pushback, as many felt that he was forced to say it as a part of HYBE’s strategy to “whitewash” Bang’s image amid the growing controversies surrounding him.
- “This is exactly why I find HYBE so annoying.”
- “Who made him say that?”
- “What a load of crap.”
- “I just feel bad for the other idols who were evaluated like products in HYBE’s documents.”
- “It’s so irritating. This is the company that used to take shots at other idols, and now they’re like, ‘We don’t do that to ours.’ Yeah, like that’s going to sound convincing.”
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