Article: [DA: Issue] "Skipping all pre-events due to casting difficulties"...'2019 MAMA' = 'No press conference' award ceremony
Source: Sports Donga
Mnet has cancelled all pre-events and the annual press conference for '2019 MAMA'.
According to a new report by Sports Donga on the 15th, the '2019 MAMA' ceremony that will be held at Nagoya Dome, Japan on December 4th will be concluded on the same day without any pre-event in Korea. The press conference, that's usually held before the ceremony has also been cancelled.
According to Mnet, cancellations are due to casting difficulties in part due to anti-Japanese sentiment in Korea at its peak. As a result, no celebrities want to offend the public. In addition, the recent vote-rigging controversies involving 'Produce 101' will be an uncomfortable situation for stars that attend.
An agency representative stated, "We received an offer from MAMA side but we are in a difficult situation. It's not an easy decision to make because of the fierce backlash from Korean fans. It's also an ambiguous situation from PR side because we're not sure what the backlash will be like."
Another agency official stated, "I would like to say boldly that things are ok but they're not. It's a situation we have to look into because we don't want to make the fans uncomfortable. We also don't want to worsen the artists image so its a very worrisome situation. We don't know what to do. We're trying to address the broadcast issue."
'2019 MAMA' has been facing a series of crises this year from the venue selection, casting difficulties, and now controversies involving its audition programs.
Many are curious how Mnet will handle the situation and how the event will turn out.