RIIZE’s Anton Spotted Holding Hands With “A New Jersey Girl” In Alleged Date Photo

An alleged photo of RIIZE‘s Anton has since sparked some speculation online.

Shared via X (former Twitter) through an unknown account @zpqkfkekfnk, the now-deleted photo captured a man and a woman holding hands. The account alleged that the man in the photo was RIIZE’s Anton…

Our dear Anton-ie. When the fans were getting a bit frustrated over the fact that he didn’t show up once to Weverse while on vacation, Anton was out and about doing this. Haha. And the fans thought he had lost his cellphone while he was in NJ… LOL. RIIZE members are the same.

— @zpqkfkekfnk/X

Had [the woman] been his mother, his named fansites would’ve uploaded this photo first. Haha. You all don’t think this is Anton? You don’t want to believe it?

— @zpqkfkekfnk/X

…while another account, @BBOSONGEEEEE, shared screenshots of a string of DMs received from someone alleging to have checked the woman’s face and confirmed her to be “a non-celeb girl from New Jersey,” his hometown.

@BBOSONGEEEEE also mentioned in the tweet that they, too, “checked the uncensored version of the photo” and “confirmed that she is not Shim Hye Jin.”

얼굴 대충 봤는데 심혜진님 아니긴합니다! https://t.co/g4NZN96z6C pic.twitter.com/1ycAgBgtlX

— 뽀송이 (@BBOSONGEEEEE) March 10, 2024

Sender: I checked her face. She’s a girl who lives in New Jersey.

Sender: It’s not mama Shim Hye Jin (Anton’s mom) for sure.

Sender: She’s a non-celeb, so I cannot reveal her face.

@BBOSONGEEEEE: You’re not Korean, huh?!

As the account accused Anton of neglecting his fans on Weverse while spending his time off, RIIZE fans questioned whether the man’s face in the photo—blurred and cropped—could be Anton’s. Then, a previous unrelated tweet about Anton’s green plaid bag has resurfaced as “proof” that the man in the photo is, indeed, the idol.

TBH, it would not be difficult to recognize [Anton] on the streets because of the bags he carries.

— @csttddk/X

The original tweet had garnered 1.9M+ views after being circulated earlier on March 11 (KST), before getting removed. RIIZE fans are coming together to protect the member against the invasion of his private life and demanding SM Entertainment to take action.

so we have leaked pics of seunghan, anton and sohee and i don't see SM doing much about it like i'm so frustrated these people need to be sued pic.twitter.com/GCGFYiYmZY

— amze♡ (@chaeriize) March 10, 2024

seunghan, sohee, and anton???? i need them to start getting serious and get rid some of their inner circle because this is insane pic.twitter.com/xC9Q8VvJqW

— rc (@rcmixx) March 10, 2024

Neither Anton nor SM Entertainment has reacted to the photo as of now—though, SM Entertainment did warn legal action against all violations against RIIZE members back in February 2024.

안녕하세요.
SM 엔터테인먼트입니다. pic.twitter.com/uwTP1qtGBc

— RIIZE (@RIIZE_official) February 8, 2024