IZ*ONE Former Member Nako Sparks Bullying Claims After Idol's Return To HKT48

Former IZ*ONE member Nako recently expressed how much she misses the group, but it also sparked rumors the members of HKT48 are bullying her.

After two and a half years of promoting with project girl group IZ*ONE, Nako returned to Japan and resumed her promotions with HKT48 starting May. Although her stint with IZ*ONE has already ended, she continues to communicate with South Korean fans through social media.

However, one fan recently suspected that the idol was being bullied by several HKT48 members. Nako also shared a message that seemingly supported the claims.

AllKpop shared the message from Nako, where she revealed she lost her AirPods last week. She reportedly could not find them anywhere until she spotted them in a trash can. Fans quickly questioned how her AirPods ended up in a trash can, starting to assume that the Japanese members were making fun of her.

The internet user who shared the post in an online community revealed that the HKT48 members were disappointed after Nako repeatedly spoke Korean with them while she was promoting with IZ*ONE. They also made fun of her on several talk shows as she now looks like a Korean idol.

Nako recently said she misses IZ*ONE, leading to suspicions that she is suffering because of the Japanese members.

The same user shared photos and videos of Nako and HKT48, with some members looking uncomfortable as she spoke in Korean.

Fans React To Nako's Bullying Incident

Although the user posted "proof" to prove the bullying incident, fans quickly dismissed the claims and asked the Korean internet users to stop creating false accusations.

One said, "People who don't even stan Nako or Izone insulting hkt because of a fake article on a korean forum... Shut the f-- up and stop pretending you care about her."

"First of all who believe this???? HKT48's member bullying Nako and it's spreaded by K-nets? Are you reading some AU's or maybe Wattpad's stories?" another added.

Nako's representative nor HKT48's staff has addressed the issue already. However, fans believed that this rumor only surfaced as the idol chose to stay in Japan while her former bandmates continued their career in Korea.

For what it's worth, Miyawaki Sakura recently finalized her contract with Source Music under HYBE. The signing confirmed the rumors that swirled in August when she returned to Korea for the first time since IZ* ONE's disbandment.