Did New Jeans Danielle acknowledge BTS’ Jungkook’s support in HYBE feud?

Days after BTS’ Jungkook seemingly gave a shoutout to his labelmate girl group New Jeans through a cryptic Instagram post, fans of the group have noticed some suggestive activity on the Phoning app. Her update read, “Ur my sun (sic) on a cloudy (sic) day.” However, following Jungkook’s posts that same day, she reportedly updated her status to a collection of colourful heart emojis, It is now a “blue heart (sic), pink heart (sic), yellow heart (sic), green heart (sic), purple heart (sic) along with a sparkle (sic), blue cap (sic), and pink heart with an arrow (sic).”

Fans were quick to link Danielle's updated status to Jungkook's Instagram posts, interpreting the heart emojis as a nod to the NewJeans members, similar to what Jungkook had done on his own Instagram. However, the use of the blue cap emoji stirred controversy. Many noted that this emoji is often associated with former ADOR CEO Min Hee Jin, who was frequently seen wearing a similar cap during a press conference after her disagreement with HYBE, according to Koreaboo.

In light of BIGHIT MUSIC’s statement, where they clarified that Jungkook’s posts were meant to prevent younger artists from being "dragged into disputes or used as shields," some fans interpreted Danielle’s use of the blue cap emoji as a quiet show of support for Min Hee Jin, resulting in backlash.

Reactions to Danielle’s profile update have been divided. While some fans criticized her for seemingly supporting Min Hee Jin, especially after Jungkook had stepped in to defend the group, others sympathized with her and the other young idols. Many believe they are too young to be caught in the ongoing HYBE-Min tension.

"Jungkook showed them support to stop adults from using them as shields, and she responds by posting a hat next to the hearts to support those very adults. They don’t deserve Jungkook’s kindness," wrote one user.

"Does this Danielle girl ever get tired of defending mhj? She should be thankful that the main pop star showed solidarity with her group. This is beyond disrespectful to Jungkook's statement," commented another user.

The incident gained attention shortly after Jungkook posted on his dog Bam’s Instagram account. The post featured five hearts in different colors, which many believe symbolized the NewJeans members—Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin, and Hyein—styled like the Powerpuff Girls. Jungkook also added a flexed bicep emoji to convey strength, along with the caption, "Artists are not guilty."

HYBE Vs New Jeans

The girl group recently came out in full-fledged support of Min Hee Jin, the former head of their label, ADOR. In a now-deleted Livestream (dated September 11), all five members of NewJeans demanded HYBE reinstate Min Hee Jin as CEO by September 25. “CEO Min Hee-jin is not only the person that produces our music, but someone who makes NewJeans who we are,” Danielle said. “She discusses even the smallest details with us and explains them in ways that we can understand clearly. NewJeans has a distinct color and tone, and this was created with CEO Min Hee-jin.”

On August 27, HYBE revealed that Min would be stepping down as CEO of ADOR. In a statement to Billboard, the company explained that ADOR "will undergo a restructuring to divide its production and management departments—aa common practice followed by all other HYBE labels, but one that had not yet been adopted by ADOR."

A Timeline Of Min Hee Jin’s Feud With HYBE

The five-month-long conflict began in April when HYBE launched an audit of ADOR and requested Min’s resignation as CEO. Soon after, HYBE accused Min of breaching trust and reported her to the police. In retaliation, Min held a deeply emotional press conference, where she refuted the accusations of taking control over NewJeans' management. She also accused HYBE’s subsidiary, BELIFT LAB, of copying NewJeans with its girl group, ILLIT, and claimed that another subsidiary, Source Music, broke its commitment to debut NewJeans as its first girl group. These allegations resulted in defamation lawsuits from both BELIFT and Source, igniting backlash from various K-pop fan bases.

In May, a court ruled that Min could legally continue as CEO. However, last month, a former female ADOR employee accused Min of covering up sexual harassment claims she made against a male superior. Although HYBE’s internal investigation reportedly found no evidence of harassment, Min was accused of verbally abusing the employee for raising the issue—a claim Min denied, saying the conflict stemmed from disagreements over the employee's performance and salary negotiations.