Sophia Michaels
After over four months of waiting, Monsta X fans finally received the news they were hoping for. Starship Entertainment released a statement announcing that the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency dropped the drug-related charges against Wonho. The singer-songwriter left Monsta X in October 2019 after being accused of marijuana use. On March 13, 2020, Monsta X fans trended hashtags like #WONHOISFREE and #WonhoIsAlmostHome to celebrate the news.
Wonho was cleared of all charges
Starship Entertainment released a statement detailing that the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s internal investigation of the drug charges against Wonho concluded on March 10 and the charges were subsequently dropped.
The statement reads:
“The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s drug investigation team cleared Wonho, a former member of the idol group Monsta X, of all charges against him on March 10th after closing an investigation into the drug, including marijuana.
In late October last year, allegations of marijuana smoking were raised against Wonho which consequently led the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s drug investigation team to investigate all drug charges on him. During the investigation, Wonho actively cooperated with the police and all investigation procedures, including scientific examinations by the investigative agencies. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s drug investigation unit conducted extensive investigations for the past five months but was unable to find any charges. Finally, on March 10th, Wonho’s internal investigation was concluded.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGCFaZIeB3k?feature=oembed&w=500&h=281]
Regardless of any above, we would like to apologize once again for the fact that Starship Entertainment and Wonho have caused great concern to our fans. We also thank all our fans for their unwavering support while the investigation was conducted.
During the long investigation, we tried our best to minimize media exposure to Wonho and to appoint an attorney to ensure that there are no charges against him. We will continue to fully support Wonho for developing his own career in the future.
Thank you.”
Monbebes showed the power of fandom
On Oct. 31, 2019, Wonho released a handwritten letter to fans explaining his departure from the group. Starship Entertainment proceeded to terminate his contract and removed Wonho from official promotions.
From the moment Wonho left Monsta X, Monbebes never stopped fighting for him. Fans insisted the singer-songwriter was innocent, and challenged Starship Entertainment to support Wonho throughout the investigation.
Over the past few months, fans have trended hashtags nearly every day showing their support for Wonho. They vowed to never give up on him and to always think of Monsta X as a septet. Monbebes started petitions and raised over $20,000 to rent a billboard spot in New York City’s Times Square.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7IXKQzmpK4?feature=oembed&w=500&h=281]
All of this was done as part of an unprecedented global movement to clear Wonho’s name. It shows the power of fandom in the age of social media, and how dedicated Monsta X fans were during the challenging time. Despite everything, fans never gave up, and that perseverance is something that should be admired.
Monsta X fans celebrated the news
While trending hashtags is nothing new for Monbebes, this time it was to celebrate. Immediately after the news was released, Monbebes trended several hashtags to recognize the success of their hard work and rejoice in the fact Wonho’s name was cleared.
“THIS FIGHT WASNT FOR NOTHING!! The post it notes , the wonho apocalypse, the hashtags , streaming parties , billboards , the bus , the trucks everything NOW EVERYONE KNOWS HIS NAME !! MONBEBE ARE STRONG !!! WONHO WILL BE BACK WONHO WORLD DOMINATION !! @MonstaxBelieve,” wrote a fan on Twitter.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3C3hIJg4rHo?feature=oembed&w=500&h=281]
“4 months He carried a burden for four months, lived four months without doing what he loves the most and four months with no idea of what the future may entail. Wonho fought, and the universe helped him. He’s free #wonhoisfree,” tweeted a fan.
“We worked so hard monbebes, thank you all so much The crying the reporting the fighting. It was worth it. We did it, WONHO DID IT! #WONHOISFREE,” one fan tweeted.
Written by: CheatSheet
