OK, so I've been reading a lot of nasty comments directed towards Heechul over his statement regarding the controversy surrounding Idol School. First of all, I watched the first episode of the show and didn't see anything too controversial in comparison to other survival programs. What people have issues with come from trailers for the show released by Mnet which show the girls dancing in the rain and in a pool wearing white shirts. I will not defend these scenes, as they are upsetting and inappropriate. 

That being said, I can break apart the statement Heechul gave regarding the allegations against the show. He said the following at the press conference; 

 "There were criticisms about 'Idol School' ualizing the contestants. Honestly, it's also making me very uncomfortable. ualization is a dangerous word. I haven't seen the first episode yet so I can't say anything, but it was not like that at all when I was filming. If ualization was the goal, then my agency wouldn't have let me appear on it. There are no parts that have been ualized. I think recently boys and girls split into groups and fight a lot online. Boys and girls have different tastes in variety shows. I just hope viewers perceive 'Idol School' as a game-like variety show for the girls who're not under entertainment agencies."

         Heechul made this statement not in defense of the show, but as a way to clarify his involvement and defend himself. He states that he saw nothing wrong while filming his scenes, which may be true, for he only films in the classroom set most of the time. He also states that he has not seen the first episode, therefore he can't accurately judge the accusations against the show. All he is saying here is that he never witnessed anything wrong during his own filming and is very uncomfortable with what people are accusing the show of. He goes on to state that if he'd been aware of any nefarious intentions by the show he would not have agreed to be on it. I do not understand how people can read into his words that he is defending the ualization of underage girls. He's only talking about what he observed while filming his limited scenes and actually condemns the action of ualizing the girls. 

       People are also spreading the rumor that the PD for the show classified it a "Healthy ." That isn't even a quote about Idol School. It comes from an interview with a Produce 101 PD. The quote from a knetz on allkpop contains misinformation, for they are using a quote from an interview about Produce 101. Also, while we're talking about Produce 101, another criticism I've read is the school theme of Idol school and their uniforms being a form of ualization. Produce 101 contestants wore school uniforms and no one lost their minds over it. A school theme is only ual if erts make it that way.

       Honestly, this whole thing is making me mad. Not because people are upset about the scenes mentioned above, because I understand they're inappropriate, but because they've decided to misinterpret Heechul's words and spread horrid rumors about him because of it. This man is respected by dozens of female idols. He's always going out of his way to protect female idols and respect them in turn. Do you think he'd stand for seeing the contestants ualized while he was around? If you read his quote accurately and without your tinted glasses on, he only reported what he saw WHILE HE WAS THERE!!!! He never defended anything that happened when he wasn't, and even said he hadn't seen the episode yet and couldn't speak for it. It's obvious he was just trying to defend himself and not get tangled up in any scandals involving wrong doings that he wasn't aware of.