Celebrities often commit faux pas and Girls' Generation member Tiffany Hwang was no exception. The singer was attacked and vilified on social media after uploading an Instagram post with Japan's flag and the rising sun. However, the verbal abuse didn't end just there.
The consequences of Tiffany's social media post promoting SM Town's gig in Tokyo exacerbated with each passing day. "Sister's Slam Dunk's" website was filled with thousands of requests from fans, who wanted her removed from the show. Although Tiffany apologised for sparking the tension, she wasn't easily forgiven and her post wasn't easily forgotten either.
The 27-year-old finally left popular reality TV show and Twitter was rife with pictures that claimed Tiffany was forced out of her band, SNSD as well. At this juncture, one wonders if her status as a female artiste is the reason why fans and the general public has got so tough on Tiffany.
According to Womad (via Soompi), the 27-year-old singer has been attacked primarily because she's a woman. The outlet claimed that Korean society is very unforgiving of a female artiste and argued that a male celebrity wouldn't have faced the same consequence.
Although most celebrities haven't spoken about Tiffany's exit from "Sister's Slam Dunk," songwriter Oh Ji Eun defended the SM Entertainment artiste.
She tweeted, "Why was Tiffany kicked off the show? If a male idol did the same thing, they would not have been kicked out this quickly. This makes me wonder if they are so quick to cut women from their jobs. What kind of atmosphere is this."
On its part, SM Entertainment's statement only read, "Tiffany is deeply reflecting on her mistake of uploading a social media post with writing that included the design of the rising sun on National Liberation Day."
It continued, "On the agency's level, we will do our best to take preventive measures to ensure that this sort of incident does not occur again."
To be sure, Tiffany's presence on "Sister's Slam Dunk" did not afford her a space to air her political views and her exit has robbed her of a job and forced her into seclusion. Ever since the controversy started, the Korean-American singer's active social media accounts haven't been updated and unfortunately, they may not be until tempers settle.
However, fans of the singer have expressed their love and sympathy for Tiffany in many different ways. One can only hope this pulls her out of this stark silence.
