Twice's Jeongyeon excluded from band's new track cover; Fans trend 'Respect Jeongyeon'

Dubbed as the 'Nation's Girl Group', K-pop girl group Twice recently released their ninth Japanese single titled Doughnut with a snow-themed music video. Ahead of the song's release, the official social media handles of the band, who are signed under JYP Entertainement, dropped the stunning digital posters of the single. Twice consists of nine members namely leader Jihyo, Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Momo, Sana, Mina, Dahyun, Chaeyoung, and Tzuyu.

Considering the massive popularity of the girl group, the posters were bound to create a stir in the fandom called Once. However, this time the reactions showed what fans did not expect.  

Twice Jeongyeon missing from digital posters

Taking to their official social media handles, Twice dropped the digital posters of their latest Japanese single titled Doughnut which featured a snow-themed music video and a brief dance break of the members. However, Onces were quick to notice that the poster only had eight members as it did not include member Jeongyeon. This posed a question in the fandom as many wondered why JYP Entertainment excluded the singer despite her participation in the music video and promotions. Additionally, the 25-year-old was also noticeable missing from the dance sequence in the music video. 

Fans trend 'Respect Jeongyeon'

Many fans expressed their disappointment over the digital posters as one fan wrote, ''Why is Jeongyeon missing from the Digital Cover of Doughnut, the EP, and the layout on ALL SNS accounts? Taste of Love’s digital cover was a collage. Why are you purposely leaving Jeongyeon out when she participated at the end?'' Moreover, fan art of the digital poster which included the singer was majorly circulated in the fandom. Not many fans were pleased enough to appreciate the poster without their favourite ninth member Jeongyeon.

Another fan tweeted for the 'Respect Jeonhyeon' hashtag by acknowledging her hard work even during her hiatus by writing, 'Don't you guys realize how disrespectful and invalidating it is for someone to - after being on a hiatus - works hard to join the mv (which takes hours per day INSTEAD of her resting) only to be left out in the cover when they have a CHOICE to include her?''

For the unversed, Jeongyeon has reportedly struggled with mental health issues resulting in her indefinite hiatus from promotional activities of the band. Her recent hiatus came in August where the official Twitter of the band cited her 'panic and psychological anxiety' for the break. JYP Entertainement has yet to issue any statement providing a reason to exclude the singer from the digital poster. 

Image: Twitter/@JYPETWICE