Chinese idol Tao is rumored to be leaving EXO along with another Korean member.
Chinese media outlet Sina recently reported that entertainment industry insiders have been sharing reports on Weibo that Tao will be leaving SM Entertainment's highly successful idol group. According to KpopStars, rumors also claim that a Korean member is also heading to a departure.
Since these rumors surfaced, SM Entertainment has not released a statement to confirm nor deny them.
Sina quoted two Weibo posts, which are from accounts allegedly owned by entertainment critics. One of the posts reveals that Tao will be leaving the group while the other reads, "Next year two members are leaving EXO: one Chinese and one Korean. The group disbandment is not long away."
After the rumors spread online, Tao updated his Instagram with a photo of himself with the caption, "EXO-L [EXO's fans] let's go on a date."
In a report by China Topix, the alleged entertainment critics said that Tao and another idol are planning to file a lawsuit to nullify their contracts with their record label. One of the critics claimed that Tao will be going back to China just like what Kris and Luhan.
Another critic reportedly posted on Weibo saying EXO is now in a "bottleneck" phase and that they are going through a "regrouping issue." The same account also claimed that SM is busy grooming a new idol group and is not giving much attention to EXO. "EXO's peak days has already passed," wrote the same Weibo user.
KpopStars noted that the buzz started after EXO-M's Lay delivered a heartwarming speech during the recently concluded MAMA 2014. Lay said, "We want to dedicate this award to EXO-L, and the year 2014. It has been a hard and dull year for EXO, but I promise that from today onwards, EXO will be working hard so it won't be dull anymore."
The originally 12-member group has seen two departures this year. Kris (Wu Yifan), leader of Chinese language subunit EXO-M left in May after filing a lawsuit against SM. Luhan, also a Chinese member, followed suit and left the group in October.
It can be recalled that during Luhan's much-talked-about exit from EXO, SM claimed that the two Chinese members' departures showed that "there is someone behind the scenes who is pulling the strings."
Fans are particularly worried because prior to Kris and Luhan's exit from the case, rumors about it have already been circulating.
Join the Conversation