Amid dating rumors with a Korean influencer, SEVENTEEN Joshua felt the criticism not only of Korean CARATs but even his Japanese fans after his goods were boycotted.

SEVENTEEN Joshua's Japanese CARATs Boycott His Goods for Tokyo Dome Concert

While SEVENTEEN Joshua is embroiled in rumors of a romantic relationship with an influencer, his Japanese fandom decided to boycott the idol's goods.

Ahead of SEVENTEEN Tour "FOLLOW" to Japan in September, the status of the selling of their merchandise has been earning the attention of K-pop community.

ALSO READ: Joshua Demanded to Leave SEVENTEEN? Protest Truck Storms PLEDIS, Incites Heated Debate Among CARATs

According to fans on August 10, Joshua's Japanese tour concert goods were not sold out among the 13 members. (S.Coups, Jeonghan, Joshua, Jun, Hoshi, Wonwoo, Woozi, The8, Mingyu, DK, Seungkwan, Vernon, and Dino).

Although the pickets costing $8.30 were normally not a popular item among CARATs, some believe that, given Joshua's popularity, his goods would have been sold out.

However, rumors of his romantic relationship have affected the boycott.

A Japanese fan who attended the group's Seoul Concert especially expressed his frustration to SEVENTEEN Joshua on Twitter, hereinafter X.

"Is this how we look in Joshua's eyes?"

In the photo of the concert site, all the faces of the fans were marked with a bag of dollars emoji, which signifies money, and only the face of the lady believed to be the girlfriend of the idol was filled with hearts.

SEVENTEEN Joshua's Dating Rumor Prompt K-CARATs to Demand Idol's Withdrawal From Group

Earlier on August 7, a number of evidence of a romantic relationship between Joshua and a Korean influencer spread on SNS and online forums, causing controversy.

Carats raised the dating speculation after noticing the "couple's items," attending birthday parties, concert sightings, and matching Instagram profile photos. As a result, the keyword "Joshua's girlfriend" was also on the real-time trend list on X.

Earlier on August 10, a truck protest was held by Korean CARATs in front of the SEVENTEEN agency demanding the male idol's withdrawal. The protest truck said:

"Joshua should leave. There is no future for celebrities who trample on the efforts of group members and the sincerity of their fans."

While idol dating was a taboo item, recently, fandom has tended to respect idol privacy. But in Joshua's case, fans are angry because the idol neglected fan communication and it has been a long time since he voluntarily conducted a live broadcast.

Another thing was due to the fact that SNS was the only channel to interact with fans, but Joshua allegedly use it for "Lovestagram."

Fans clarified that dating itself is not a problem but how the male idol is handling the situation. What made it worse is that his agency, Pledis Entertainment is yet to give their official position on the romantic rumor, and fans are worried about what will happen prior to SEVENTEEN starting their Japan tour concert in September.

READ MORE: SEVENTEEN Joshua 'Deceived' Fans? Why K-Carats Are Unhappy About Idol's Dating Rumor

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Written by Eunice Dawson.