Celebrity Abuse: Should Hallyu Stars Be Held To Higher Standards Than Hollywood Stars?

[imienazwisko.livejournal.com]

The assault charges against singer and actor Kim Hyun Joong have not yet been proven. For now, they are only allegations. But if the singer is found guilty, it seems likely that his career will suffer, as k-celebs are held to a higher standard than Hollywood stars.

The closest case to compare it to might be actor Park Shi Hoo's 2013 date rape scandal. The allegations damaged his career even though the charges were eventually dropped. He has not worked in Korea since the charges were made early in 2013. The news that he might be cast in a drama even after the charges were dropped prompted so much negative criticism that his involvement did not happen.

He has worked outside of Korea but it might be a while before Korean audiences accept him. And there is no evidence that he was even guilty of the charges. Just the taint of the scandal was enough to indict him and stall his Korean career.

The charges made against Kim Hyun Joong can be considered domestic abuse since the person he allegedly hit was his girlfriend. In comparison, dozens of American celebrities have been accused and some arrested for domestic abuse, some more than once. Their careers were damaged but they continued to work and a few even enjoyed greater success. According to a Feb. 2013 Washington Post article on celebrity abuse, the lineup of abusers includes singer Chris Brown, who bit and punched singer-girlfriend Rihanna; actor Charlie Sheen whose multiple abuse charges include shooting his fiancée in the arm; and Sean Penn, who reportedly hit Madonna with a baseball bat sending her to the hospital.

After threatening his wife with a knife in 2009, Sheen was sentenced to 30 days in rehab. He bounced back quickly to become the highest paid actor in the U.S. in 2010. Three years after admitting to the domestic abuse charges, Chris Brown won his first Grammy. Sean Penn continues to have a successful film career.

While the careers of these U.S. celebrities suffered temporarily, they bounced back, with some even complaining that the media paid too much attention to their personal lives.

There may have been extenuating circumstances in the case of Kim Hyun Joong and his girlfriend. There's no way to know until all the evidence is in. But should the actor be judged solely on the basis of his career moves and not his domestic abuse charges? That would be more likely in the world of Hollywood celebs.

What do you think about the fact that Hallyu stars are held to a higher standard than Hollywood stars when it comes to scandalous behavior?
source: kdramastars

i dont really agree with this article but i find it interesting (in a way). what do you think omona?

Comments

[la-luciernaga.livejournal.com]

I LIKE the fact that K-celebs are held to a higher standard than Hollywood celebs and that's only because the standard that Hollywood celebs are held to is ridiculously low and the fact that they get off with so many assault charges that would make them bad people if not for their success and money is ridiculous. I think they should be held accountable for their actions like every other person should be(though domestic violence and rape/sexual assault aren't taken seriously enough in society in general, but I'm speaking as an American woman with limited knowledge on how other countries legal systems work, so correct me if it's not the case in other places.)

So not sure what the OP was agreeing or disagreeing with, but I just think all people who do bad things should receive the proper consequence and not be heralded as a star/idol/celeb in any way any longer.

[layna.livejournal.com]

All of this.

[sumo-mona.livejournal.com]

why compare to hollywood's terrible track record with abusive men still getting applauded
they should all be held to the same standard of basic human decency...

does anyone have any counter examples of cases with korean stars still having careers after any abuse/violence scandals?

[stoppedclock321.livejournal.com]

There's one older case with some guy who hit and killed someone with his car, hid the body (or moved it, I think)...who still has a career/had one after the incident. I think he may have been driving drunk too (sorry, I'm only remembering parts of the situation).

[bebita19.livejournal.com]

It's not that they're held to a higher regard, it's just that some people willingly turn their head the other way for the sake of *~*art*~* and some people are more interested in how these stars deal with the aftermath because we all know they're the real victims in these crimes.

[4minutesluts.livejournal.com]

im assuming that last bit is sarcasm but i never can be sure w/ kpop fans

but also i don't think people should get toooo high and mighty about how good kpop is at punishing these people, i mean currently this is the section of daesung's wiki article about his accident

"On May 31, Daesung was involved in a car accident in which a motorcyclist died.[13] Investigation cleared the singer of charges,[14] but he had to suspend his public activities with Big Bang for a period of time.[15] During this time, Daesung spent his days working and volunteering at the church he often frequents."

note especially the use of passive voice in the first sentence, when the article it cites says 'Police say Daesung killed motorcyclist' in the headline, and makes no mention of the fact that he was speeding, going immediately to how much time he spent at church

[scionofawhisper.livejournal.com]

I like the Korean entertainment industry because it's less messy and has higher moral standards though, so I hope they don't start falling in line with hollywood. :/

[stoppedclock321.livejournal.com]

Is it actually less messy though, or is stuff just hidden better (and actually hidden)?

[stoppedclock321.livejournal.com]

It doesn't really hurt to talk about the differences in the industries and how they treat scandals though, does it?

[stoppedclock321.livejournal.com]

Re: substance abuse, I remember something I read talking about the difference in that. If it's a normal person that gets caught, they end up with charges/a record/jailtime/fines/etc., but if it's a famous person, they just go off to rehab and that's it.

[asnindie.livejournal.com]

Let's not discuss UK celebs. The amount of people who defend celebrities in this country is disgusting. The whole Jimmy Saville scandal alone shows how screwed up it all was.

[pepper.livejournal.com]

The truth is Hollywood doesn't really give a shit about domestic abuse. I mean, Michael Fassbender, Nicholas Cage, Chris Brown, etc. They're all successful and nobody really seems to care about the things they've done. Brown does get shit sometimes, unlike the other too, but that's because he isn't white lbr, but that's another story for another time.

Korea is a lot more unforgiving towards celebrities, and that's mostly a good thing, except when they start crucifying idols over pitiful shit like doing drugs, dating, being gay, etc.

[stoppedclock321.livejournal.com]

I agree with all of your last sentence (except maybe with the drugs, since that does depend on the country and their laws).

[asnindie.livejournal.com]

Hollywood as an entity is awful and disgusting, these people believe paedophilia is understandable so there's no moral fibre there. In Korea image is everything, and once that's tainted goodbye to your career.

And it's not like there's much substance to him anyway. Can't sing and can't act. If he's not selling his image, exactly what does he have left?

[atopworld.livejournal.com]

Honestly there's a huge difference in the way white celebrities are dealt with versus black celebs who have been involved with crimes in the US....but wishful thinking says everyone should get the same treatment.

[fukkthedumbshyt.livejournal.com]

I was going to say this because everyone else in this post is clearly ignoring this fact.

[kaninasan.livejournal.com]

Everyone should be held to a higher standard tbh

[kairoso.livejournal.com]

Hollywood sucks. White men (and especially if they're talented) get let off easy. (Fuck everyone who signed that Roman Polanski petition lol. People argue for separation of art and personal issues. But someone who flees the country to escape prison/trial is a whole other level of assholeness). Domestic abuse barely counts for anything in hollywood.

I hope that KHJ will actually face punishment for domestic abuse. When (if) he gets convicted, his fans need to open their eyes and see that there is nothing to support because he's just a pretty man who does vile things.

[sskaller.livejournal.com]

I wish everyone was held to the highest standard of course. It literally boggles my mind how easily things are forgiven or forgotten in Hollywood (if you are a white male). I wish everyone's career was negatively impacted.

And I wish these US celebrities at least showed some kind of marked changed. But people like Sean Penn, Charlie Sheen and Chris Brown keep showing off their bad tempers. They still seem like they can go off at any minute.

[4minutesluts.livejournal.com]

finding out that bill murray's last ex-wife accused him of domestic violence in their divorce kind of blew my mind, you just don't hear about it at all unless it fits with their image somehow ('thugs', which to hollywood also includes pretty much every black man other than maybe urkel)

[tempestdance.livejournal.com]

i have no problem with k celebs held to a certain moral standard, but it is upsetting that politicians get away with more shit than the celebs do. like i have no good expectations from the entertainment industry but the idealist in me says people who run the fucking country should at least pretend to be good people.

[purekpopology.livejournal.com]

All of them *should* be held to the same standard. It's probably because kcelebrities are held to a higher standard, that I like them more. Sometimes I think knetizens go too far forget these people are human, but fans of Hollywood celebrities seem to be the opposite and just accept that celebrities are allowed to be terrible human beings.

What I'm STILL confused about to this day, and it's fresh in my mind right now because of Hyunjoong, is WHY Koreans still love Chris Brown?! He also assaulted a woman! Is it because they expect violent behaviour from Americans and write it off, or what?

[asnindie.livejournal.com]

I think his dick must be a wand? I guess because apparently RIhanna doesn't care anymore and his music is apparently good, so people still love him. That and America sure loves a "comeback" of the worst types.

[torontok.livejournal.com]

No, if anything Hollywood stars should be held to higher standards and the fact that so many still get work and public accolades despite their disgusting crimes (Sean Penn, Mark Wahlbery, Woody Allen etc) is an absolute disgrace

[cuizy.livejournal.com]

you mean mark wahlberg right? I read up on his past and omg it's disgusting. On the other hand *perhaps* people do change and we should give them a chance too? idk

[tsuyoi-hikari.livejournal.com]

Park Shihoo really destroy his career. He was so good in The Princess' Man and now new people will hesitate to watch that amazing drama because of his mistakes. I'm utterly disappointed. :(( I'm glad I watched the drama way way before the incident so I actually managed to enjoy the drama to all its glory..

[cococrazies.livejournal.com]

Wasn't he wrongfully accused, though? I seem to recall them uncovering texts the girl had sent insinuating she was out for the settlement money, and her stories not adding up. Her friend who'd been streamlining the whole thing even accused her of having cheated her, I think.

[cherrypop.livejournal.com]

When it comes to serious issues like this, I still think the US approach is better. I'm a big believer that people who show remorse, do their time, pay the price, they should be allowed to work just like anyone else in society who does the same thing. Ever since Chris Brown's assault case he's been hit with multiple charges and 90% of them aren't true. It's just that people realize they can take advantage of him now due to his past record. All the mentioned actors and singers can work in the industry, but they'll be forever plagued and bogged down by their own mistakes.

I think netizens are too quick to judge. It's not even just this Kim Hyun Joong case, but multiple cases have been taken way, way, way over the line. It's like Korean celebs can't even make a simple human mistake. I'm talking about things like Hyosung's white t-shirt in the ice bucket challenge, A Pink's Bomi having a meme face of Park Jin Young as her iPad background, Girl's Day Minah talking about how Girl's Day wasn't present to accept their award for Female President because of SEWOL, and need we forget the guy who supposedly touched Suzy's butt... except he didn't. It's just a bunch of overprotective Kpop fans who judge before anything gets proven.

The same thing is happening now. A bunch of netizens and Omoners saying "Turning in my stan card" "I can't be his fan anymore" UM. Whatever happened to waiting until the evidence is cleared and the truth is proven?? Turn in your stan card when an actual verdict is read.

[atopworld.livejournal.com]

Also wanna point out that K-Celebs are already held to a higher standard than Hollywood Celebs. You see it in the way they appear on variety shows and such, where they have to cover body hair, or they HAVE to be funny/show a talent, and airport fashion, etc. It's obvious in the way that Netz say things that their celebrities/idols are not allowed to be human. They are supposed to be above normal citizens.

In Hollywood, it's accepted that you can fuck up...but it depends on who you are.

[sub-divided.livejournal.com]

Hollywood in general doesn't care about sexual assault because Hollywood in general is misogynist. The South Korean entertainment industry is the same, there's no professional stigma attached to being an abusive asshole in your private life, only to being caught by the public. It's really public opinion that keeps people from being as successful as they were before they were caught.

But I'm not sure it's true that Western celebs get off scott-free without having to face the court of public opinion and/or go into hiding like K-celebs do... especially female celebrities and teen idols seem to catch a lot of heat for their public mistakes. I think a lot of people tend to want to follow a "redemption" narrative though, where the celebrity who fucked up must be loathed for a period of time, until they've suffered enough, and then they can confess their sins and be forgiven and returned to grace. Sometimes the script is so obvious it backfires because people who know how to pretend to be sorry/beg forgiveness can game it.

But even if there are problems, I think it's better to give people a second chance. Of course no one has a right to a public life as a rich celebrity, but if you're an actor or a director, that's your profession, you know? There need to be consequences so people - teens especially - can learn the limits of acceptable behavior, but if you don't leave a way open for people to be forgiven and rebuild, then why would they bother to do the hard work of trying to change?

But then it's probably easier to become a moral person in the non-celebrity world so I dunno, really.

[4minutesluts.livejournal.com]

I don't think the conservative society bit really explains it all, generally conservative societies are more okay with violence and sexual assault against women than liberal ones that have been heavily influenced by feminism.

[e-bone (from livejournal.com)]

We really can't compare Hallyu and Hollywood stars because there is no market for unstable/questionable behavior in SK like there is in the US...

[suxaholic.livejournal.com]

You are dead wrong on that. There is plenty questionable behavior in SK not to mention that so amny wealthy criminals like Lee Soo Man gets pardon from SK presidents. SK is probably the only democratic wealthy country in the world to do that and so often.

[bebita19.livejournal.com]

Sarcasm indeed my friend. ;)

I meant that Hollywood itself isn't held to high morality so when things like this happens it isn't as shocking, I guess is the word I wanna say, but both industries have a terrible track record when it comes to scandals and how people, especially the industry itself, deal with them.

[suxaholic.livejournal.com]

just because hollywood shows more nudity does not mean korean entertainment has higher moral standard. K entertainment is just as nasty as any other entertainment industry they are just way better at hiding it..

When it comes to women's issues such as prostitution, rape, violence Korea is easily the worst amongst OECD countries. Just look at what happened to actress Jang ya yeon most of the offenders were not prosecuted

[punkylana.livejournal.com]

aw :( i remember, that was so sad, poor woman