Twice is coming up on their 7th year and contract renewal, so it got me thinking about how even after 7 years and everything they have gone through, it's amazing they still have such a clean and fresh image with the Korean public. I would make this thread September/October 2022 around renewal time, but chances are, I won't be here.
I am talking about "scandals" that would have broken any other group, in the end, did not sink the vibrant ship that is Teudoongie! At first, I thought to myself, that's because they have never really had any big level scandals, but then I kept thinking about it and actually...they've had a few. So, I started listing them in my mind and remembered some I hadn't thought about in years. So here are the big to moderate sized scandals I can remember Twice going through (and surviving) during my time as a Once. (I did not include any dating (post 3 year contract) or singing based scandals. And I also did not include anything about Nayeon's stalker or the Dahyun airport incident since those aren't really scandals. Those were things Twice suffered, but that would not really impact their idol image or the public's perception of them.)
Not in order since it's been like 6 years.
- The big doozy. All of 2 months after Twice debuted (not even fully...like a month and a half) and this incident cropped up. This is probably Twice's biggest scandal to date even still, and I still remember that traumatic video they had Tzuyu film. She literally looked like she was being held against her will. It was really sad and depressing. Then Cheer-Up happened in April and Twice became the IT group.
2. The Mina/Bambam Photo Scandal
- Not many people remember or even know about this scandal, and honestly, thank God. That whole situation was weird, and thankfully nothing huge came out of it. People did say that they felt Mina's overall popularity took a hit after this since she was/is known as one of Twice's main visuals, but she still has like the 2nd or 3rd biggest amount of overall fan support.
3. Jihyo's Native American Scandal
- Debated even adding this one since this was mostly an issue with I-Fans. I honestly don't think Koreans cared at all. Basically, Jihyo dressed up in a very costume-y Native American outfit for Twice's Halloween concert they used to do (it was actually literally a costume), and some people were offended by it. Understandably given the history behind Native Americans and the use of their image. Fans wanted her to apologize and contacted JYPE. I am not sure if she ever released a direct apology or if she just addressed it informally somewhere else.
4. Sana's Japanese New Era Scandal
- Sana (being Japanese) celebrated the beginning of Japan's new Reiwa era by making a post on in Instagram in Japanese. Some reporter idiot tried to spin that as if she was some Japanese nationalist, which if you know Korean/Japanese history, you know that was a storm waiting to happen. If there is anyone South Korea hates more than North Korea, it's Japan. Because of him, Sana received a lot of hate online. So much so, it made the poor girl cry at a concert. Luckily, not everyone is an idiot like that guy, so just about everyone knew her intent was not malicious and Korean fans stuck by her.
5. Jihyo's Feminist Scandal
- The poor girl. There was a point in time where it seems like Jihyo was taking Ls left and right. The fact she was dating Kang Daniel was leaked by Dispatch, which got her a lot of hate from his fans, somebody tried to scam her mother and hacked into her Kakao? account, and she was injured at the airport because of rowdy fans. A long with that, she said something randomly on v-live chat I think, and she was accused of being a feminist, which in Korea is a dirty word since there are a lot of HARDcore male feminist haters in Korea. Like, these guys will legitimately harass you incessantly online (jobless). In the end, I have no idea how this was resolved.
6. Jihyo and Mina's Soccer Scandal
- Honestly, I still don't know wtf happened with this one? Jihyo and Mina tried to start a soccer team with some other idol friends, and some guys went batshit crazy. They basically accused them of starting the team as an excuse to meet men...which literally makes no sense. Jihyo had a whole boyfriend, and if there are any women in this WORLD who will have no problem meeting a man if they want, it's the Twice girlies. Imagine how many male actors, male idols, chaebols, and more have tried to slide into their DMs. And you're worried about some soccer team?! Failed logic. They just hate women, and in the end, the team was disbanded.
Those are the ones I can remember off the top of my head. There have been more smaller things, but nothing that made it past an article post here or there. Any ones I missed?