Netizens Express Anger At ZEROBASEONE Ricky’s “Erasure” From Recent Group Content

Fans have shared their anger after they believe that ZEROBASEONE‘s Ricky is a victim of erasure from group content.

ZEROBASEONE’s Ricky | @zb1_official/Twitter

When Boys Planet started airing, Ricky quickly became a firm fan favorite. Whether it was his talent, striking visuals, or unrivaled charisma, with THAT catchphrase, the Yuehua trainee quickly became one of the front runners.

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Ricky’s popularity continued to rise. Gans couldn’t hide their excitement when, despite Mnet’s attempts at evil editing, the trainee came in fourth place and cemented his debut with ZEROBASEONE.

Ricky’s final ranking | Mnet K-Pop/YouTube

While the group has been preparing for their upcoming debut, they have been releasing content to get excited. Yet, netizens have been sharing anger after the “erasure” of Ricky from the group content that is being released.

In a video for KCON, the members were seen doing their group huddle ahead of their performance. Netizens quickly noticed that Ricky wasn’t in the clip…

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Many expressed anger as they knew that there was footage of Ricky doing the group chant that could’ve been used instead.

was it that hard to wait for all 9 members to be present for a 3 sec fanchant… mnet's ricky erasure even after his debut…… pic.twitter.com/DUvt6TcGd9

— rae ⁰-¹ (@0520RICKY) June 8, 2023

Help why was ricky in the back while zb1 was doing their huddle pic.twitter.com/AQoqvHR34o

— cat | #1 ricky defender (@hrjunnn) June 8, 2023

let me remind everyone that there’s a video of ot9 doing their group chant before their stage for kcon jpn. there’s no way zb1 would exclude a member, if anything it’s kcon staff’s fault for rushing and not caring about that there’s a member who is missing pic.twitter.com/V0aFp2cT0k https://t.co/HV34jJBc0z

— rae ⁰-¹ (@0520RICKY) June 8, 2023

On June 8 (KST), Mnet released a trailer for the group’s upcoming reality show, where the members would be showcasing even more of their personalities for fans.

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In the video, netizens noticed that while small snippets of Ricky were shown in group shots, he wasn’t shown close-up and didn’t speak throughout.

ricky's cut for the trailer was 8 seconds and he didn't even get to a say a single word pic.twitter.com/qjMfWHxAoy

— bren (@homoricky) June 8, 2023

When the video was posted, fans went online to share their anger. While they acknowledged that some netizens might find them being dramatic, they shared how upset it makes them that Ricky is seemingly being left out or not treated properly.

what i don’t get is why people are calling riyangis dramatic for being (rightfully) upset about the ricky erasure in the recent content. if ur bias barely had screentime on the show and is now being treated as if he’s not even a part of the group you’d be upset too no?

— ‏۟ (@rickybaebae) June 8, 2023

ppl who say riyangis are overreacting can stfu cuz why is ricky the only member who didn't get a close up shot for the magazine, got wrong subtitles, got no screentime and didn't talk in that behind vid and now why would they put a clip of an ot8 chant when there was an ot9 one?

— 아라 (@rickkoyangi) June 8, 2023

i just want ricky to be treated fairly ): he doesn’t deserve any of this

— ‏۟ (@rickybaebae) June 8, 2023

ricky likes to get filmed and his korean is good enough to have casual convos, we know he’s not the type to not talk at all and he’s usually in a playful mode and has good dynamics with the rest so what’s exactly their excuse to continuously not show him in content?

— jia (@520springs) June 8, 2023

For many, it wasn’t just content produced by Mnet, but promotional items, including photoshoots.

1. lack of closeup and clear magazine shots
2. no solo portions on the kcon behind ep 2
3. no solo parts in the reality show teaser
4. not included in the group chant

they haven’t debuted yet but the ricky erasure is just becoming worse… like ricky is a zb1 member too hello pic.twitter.com/YIiyoxejXb

— ۟ (@shenqrui) June 8, 2023

While it is still early and the group hasn’t debuted, netizens are worried that Ricky will continue to be treated poorly by Mnet and WAKEONE.