Netizens Can’t Handle How A Fansite’s Photoshopping Turned ZEROBASEONE’s Ricky Into Someone From The Uncanny Valley

ZEROBASEONE recently made their debut after being selected through a rigorous voting process on Boys Planet. Ricky, who has been popular for his visuals and skills through the show, debuted with the group.

As the boys move into their promotion cycle, fansites have been popping up left and right. A particular fansite for Ricky, Duende, recently uploaded a photo of the star during a performance. Due to the overt photoshopping, fans have been reacting negatively to the severity of the edits. Ricky looks almost unrecognizable in the shot.

The fansite’s photo began receiving negative comments from international netizens.

girl what meow this is a nightmare https://t.co/T0hMG7xezt

— I Love My Wife Zhang Hao (@ZEROBASE0NE) August 13, 2023

Look at how they massacred my boy..;/,…zz pic.twitter.com/UwvChN17Ky https://t.co/MmWdV1zdf8

— danabananaa (@jkayfm) August 13, 2023

The original tweet soon gained over 258,000 views, despite the fansite’s account only having 87 followers.

this is heinous work bro go to jail https://t.co/pGfVQoO975

— harmless (r*mi.. again) (@SUNWOONHOLDEEZ) August 13, 2023

As the response worsened, Duende took to Twitter to clarify that they had used an AI enhancer to sharpen the photo, as it was taken from a distance. HQ photo restoring apps often distort the feature’s of the person in the photo.

I DIDN'T upload it with malice, I posted this picture because I like it. Actually, this picture was taken by my friend, she was too far away from the stage, so the picture was blurry. I sharpened it with AI enhancer, which may have caused the distortion. I won't use it next time. https://t.co/1D3T2PVBMH

— ???????????????????????? (@Duende040520) August 13, 2023

They also clarified that everyone has different aesthetics, and that they simply loved every side of Ricky.

I'm so sad……I just posted that picture because I really like it. People have different aesthetics, so please respect each other. In that picture, he looks like a real cat, doesn't it? He is soooo cute! I love all types of Ricky

— ???????????????????????? (@Duende040520) August 13, 2023

As the fansite is a new one, fans have hope that they will get better at editing.