SEVENTEEN’s The8 Allegedly Spotted Smoking and Clubbing With Women

SEVENTEEN’s The8 Faces Backlash Over Club Video Circulating Online

A video allegedly showing SEVENTEEN’s The8 in a club with a woman has started circulating on Chinese social media, sparking strong reactions from fans and netizens.

The clip reportedly shows The8 smoking an e-cigarette while at the club. This comes shortly after The8 and fellow member Vernon debuted as SEVENTEEN’s new subunit, V8.

The controversy began when the video surfaced online, leading to heated discussions. Some fans criticized The8’s behavior, while others defended him. One tweet claimed:

this is the8 in the club with girls while smoking e-cig, jun must be protected even more as he does not cause trouble unlike the8 and mingyu with their clubbing addiction
— ayato (@thankunexxst) July 2, 2026

Soon after, The8’s agency released an official statement on Weibo addressing the situation.

Recently, false rumors and related discussions about our artists Wen Junhui (Jun) and Xu Minghao (The8) have appeared on online platforms. Unauthorized photos and videos of them have also been circulated, accompanied by malicious speculation and interpretations taken out of context. These have seriously misled the public. The content has continued to spread online and is entirely false information and malicious defamation arising from fan conflicts. It has severely affected the reputations of our two artists and disrupted their normal work and daily lives.

In response, our company hereby makes the following statement:

First, the above actions constitute violations of our artists’ portrait rights and reputation rights. Without the artists’ permission, individuals have taken and publicly disseminated their images, fabricated facts, and published defamatory statements. These actions violate Articles 1019 and 1024 of the Civil Code of the People’s Republic of China.

Furthermore, our company has comprehensively collected and preserved evidence regarding the infringing content and those responsible for maliciously spreading it. We formally warn the relevant internet users and accounts to:

Immediately delete all false content.
Immediately stop reposting, commenting on, or otherwise spreading such content.

Otherwise, we will pursue legal liability in accordance with the law.

Our company will continue to monitor online platforms. We also sincerely urge fans and internet users to evaluate online information rationally, do not believe rumors, do not spread rumors, and do not disseminate unverified information. Let us work together to maintain a clean online environment.

At the same time, our company will take all necessary legal measures to protect the lawful rights and interests of our artists and will not tolerate any infringement.

— Statement

The agency’s statement did not mention the video directly but addressed the false rumors and unauthorized content involving The8 and Jun.

As the situation unfolds, fans are watching closely for any further updates from SEVENTEEN’s agency or the idols themselves.