Chinese AI girl group BABYQUEEN has drawn criticism after announcing that one of its members is departing due to “pregnancy”.
The four-member, K-pop-inspired AI group managed by Liaoning-based BABYPVSSY Entertainment debuted only in September, and has around 1,100 followers.
Source: HK01
On 12 Oct, the “entertainment agency” posted on social media that member Mity was pausing activities due to being “pregnant”.
In a statement, BABYPVSSY Entertainment said Mity has recently shared “the happy news of her pregnancy”.
Following discussions, they decided that “she will pause all group and individual schedules—including variety show appearances and stage performances—to focus on her health and ensure a safe, stable pregnancy”.
Source: HK01
The “company” said it respected the AI idol’s decision and was committed to supporting her well-being during this period.
It added that Mity’s hiatus is a “temporary break for maternity leave” and that she may return at a later date “depending on her health status”.
Additionally, it requested fans’ understanding and asked them to refrain from speculating about the AI idol’s private life.
The post garnered 78 million views on Weibo and sparked debate on the boundaries of giving humanlike identities to AI personas, South China Morning Post reported.
Netizens reportedly left comments such as “Am I sick or has the world gone mad?”, “Has the world really developed to this point?”, and “Are we going to create a string of code?”
Some were outraged at the use of pregnancy as an excuse for an AI idol to leave a group out of countless possible excuses.
One user also speculated that the creators of BABYQUEEN had run out of money for tokens to generate its AI idols, forcing it to remove a member.
Later, the group’s creators posted an apology in which they acknowledged that using pregnancy as an excuse for the AI idol’s departure was inappropriate.
They also explained that the narrative was entirely fictional.
Announcement written from Mity’s perspective. Source: HK01
Additionally, they admitted that managing AI idols had become overwhelming, so they needed to scale back.
They further explained that they are a group of young, female K-pop fans who had created BABYQUEEN for their own enjoyment, with no intention of making a profit.
However, the criticism continued despite their apology.
One netizen claimed the creators had “commodified a sensitive topic that should not be exploited”.
Another noted that it is against the law when humans create fake online personas and thus questioned whether AI gets a free pass.
Meanwhile, one user also defended the AI group’s creators, saying they were only K-pop fans making content for fun.
“People don’t need to turn this into a major moral crusade,” they added.
Further accusations about using pregnancy as a publicity stunt arose when BABYQUEEN released a cover of K-pop girl group Aespa’s “Next Level” music video a day after the pregnancy announcement.
Also read: ‘I’m getting married next year!’: Translation error sparks wedding rumours about K-pop idol
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Featured image adapted from HK01, BGStock72 on Canva for illustration purposes only.