Apologies if this has been posted before but I read this on quora about 1u and just found it so disturbing.
I never stanned her however, I did used to be a fan, but finding out about her lolita scandal and the meaning behind her song ‘Zeze’ disgusted me and I haven’t listened to her since. I honestly have absolutely no idea how she still has a career, let alone one so successful.
Do not comment things about ‘creative freedom’. There’s no such thing as creative freedom when it comes to people sexualising minors and lolita.
Edit* I also added a pic of the Chatshire album cover in which there is a drawing of Zeze, the main character of ‘My Sweet Orange Tree’, pictured wearing fishnet stockings. He’s a five year old victim of abuse and she sexualised him.
Anyway so I thought one could put it down to her company doing this but apparently it was her idea:
With IU‘s interpretation of her new song “Zeze” on the chopping board, Dongnyok Publishing, the publishing company for “My Sweet Orange Tree,” expressed their concern.
For some context, Zeze from the autobiographical Brazilian novel “My Sweet Orange Tree” is the character that IU based her lyrics on. Zeze is a five-year-old boy who is suffering from domestic abuse. His only solace and friend for much of the novel is Minguinho, an orange tree in his back yard that he has the ability to communicate with.
IU has said in an interview, “I wrote the lyrics about Zeze in the point of view of Minguinho in ‘My Sweet Orange Tree.’ Zeze is innocent, but in some aspects, also cruel. When looking only at his character, he is a very hypocritical character. Because of that, I found him charming and sexy.”
With this interpretation, she wrote sexually suggestive lyrics for the song such as, “You are innocent / But also definitely cunning / You seem as transparent as a young child / But somewhere, you are dirty” and also, “Zeze, hurry and climb up the tree / Take the youngest leaf / Pick the only flower / Climb up me.”
The publishing company as well as many others are taking issue with IU’s interpretation of “Zeze” which sexualizes this abused five-year-old boy. Dongnyok Publishing made a post on their official Facebook expressing their distaste, saying, “IU-nim, Zeze isn’t a child who’s like that.”
They wrote, “Zeze is a five-year-old who is hurt because of the abuse he receives from his family. With his words, ‘Why must children grow up?’ he makes many readers cry. Minguinho is the only friend that Zeze has who gives him warmth. But to make a song in Minguinho’s point of view and to call Zeze cunning?”
Now I know 1u joined the industry very young and has had a long career with an image of being very humble and kindhearted but does anyone here know if she’s a handler of some sorts? Because to me it doesn’t just seem like she was forced to use symbolism but has really gone the extra mile to put it in her work.
