iKON‘s Bobby has opened up about former groupmate B.I and his feeling about the latter’s departure from the K-pop boyband in June 2019.
Bobby spoke about B.I’s departure from the group in the comment section of a recent Instagram post on September 11, seemingly in response to discissions between fans about whether the group should reunite.
In comments seen and archived by SBS Star and Koreaboo, the South Korean rapper said that he understands where fans are coming from, calling B.I his “brother”.
“He did show some bad influence [on] our next gen[eration], but [I] can’t stop my love for him though,” Bobby added, while saying that B.I. “kno[w]s what he did was wrong and everything”.
“I love him as much as you do. Let’s not forget [that he’s] a good dud. Let’s give im a chance to make it up to you. Forgiveness is [the] most noble thing that [a] human being can do.” he continued.
In a follow-up comment, Bobby said that even though B.I had “abandoned” the group, alleging that the latter’s departure from iKON was a “decision” that he had made in order not to be a “burden” to the group.
“But after all the hatred [that] I felt for him… I decide[d] to forgive him and show love for my brother again,” Bobby added, while noting that he is unsure if they could ever work together again.
Later, in response to a Korean fan’s comment about how the group’s fans have been “hurt” over B.I, Bobby said that he feels “nothing but gratitude” towards their fans, as translated by Koreaboo.
“We know that you guys were very hurt, and that you guys cried many tears in real life for us,” he added. “I’m not telling you guys to support whatever he did. I’m just saying we should stop fighting.”
Bobby then said that he and the group “don’t feel anything towards him anymore, but we’re all just people who are trying to live on”. He continued: “It just hurts my heart so bad, to see you guys fighting.”
Last year, Bobby and his iKON bandmate spoke about how it was a “difficult time” for them after B.I left the group. “I thought, ‘Is this the end of iKON?’,” Bobby said at the time.
Meanwhile, the K-pop boyband are currently on the US leg of their 2023 ‘Take Off’ world tour. They will head back to Asia in October and November to play more concerts. Check out the full list of dates here.
