ILLIT’s Music Video Sparks Massive Controversy Over Alleged “Shade” Toward NewJeans
Since Min Hee Jin‘s legal win against HYBE on February 12, conversations around the previous “NewJeans versus ILLIT” discourse have been reignited.
Many are revisiting the plagiarism accusations Min made against BELIFT LAB, arguing that the similarities between NewJeans and ILLIT were too close and too frequent to be coincidental.
NewJeans Vs. ILLIT’s Plagiarism Controversy Resurfaces Amid Min Hee Jin’s Lawsuit Win
Now, fans are claiming that one of ILLIT’s music videos, released after the conflict between NewJeans and HYBE began, contained direct references to NewJeans with the intent to portray them negatively.
The music video in question is “Little Monsters.” Fans have pinpointed a particular scene in the video, where the ILLIT members are seen eating gummy bears that symbolically represent “monsters.” It struck many as odd that the five gummy bears shown in this scene were in NewJeans’ representative five colors.
Never forgetting this shitty ass mv. The gummy bears aka "monsters" having the representative colors of newjeans is literally sickening. pic.twitter.com/iWLtQUSkPT
— yuha shady facts (@love2yuha) February 12, 2026
This interpretation soon went viral, sparking a heated response. Those who agreed with the OP (original response) argued that this couldn’t be a mere coincidence, given how meticulous HYBE is about every production. Additionally, some felt that the scene’s progression aligned perfectly with the individual details of the NewJeans members.
not only did they copy the girls' drawings from 'get up’ photobook for their comeback teasers, they also made a music video of them eating ‘gummy monsters’ in newjeans signature colors. the green one (so haerin) literally interacts with a cat… they’re nasty and shameless. pic.twitter.com/i2Xjc8JBTn
— lore (@dittosnjz) February 13, 2026
so many primary and secondary colors out there yet it HAD to be the 5 ones from NewJeans? mind you, hybe has shown to be super aware about anything NewJeans related so https://t.co/1bkY16Edlm
— ۟ (@hybendings) February 13, 2026
i’ve never seen this and i’m disgusted https://t.co/5agS8mzHZ1
— lore (@dittosnjz) February 13, 2026
I saw a still frame of this and thought “oh it’s just 💙🩷💚💛 could be a coincidence”
Watching the entire video I now know it’s bc the 💜 got eaten/murdered first
There’s no way it’s a coincidentce everyone involved in this are sick in the head https://t.co/dOL25U5OMl
— 🐰🦦🧸🍂🥖☕️ (@yanderemchan) February 13, 2026
Belift knows their group is always accused of copying, but they still choose similar styles.
"NewJeans don’t own colors"
Obviously, but using similar colors when people are already comparing them just makes it worse. https://t.co/Nq5Vrps5X9— 🍅🐈 ⊹ ࣪ ˖ (@sunk3tty_) February 13, 2026
The worst part is that Hybe has documents proving they're over-aware of everything, so this detail is totally intentional. this cannot be an oversight or a coincidence when it's a group whose content must be scrutinized to protect them… hybe is really using them. https://t.co/3I7YC8Vn3K
— 🐱 .. ginger (@nyanaerin) February 13, 2026
However, many stepped in to defend ILLIT, pointing out that the music video was conceptualized by an external creative director, Toishihiko Tanabe, and that it was therefore illogical to accuse BELIFT LAB or HYBE of inserting double meanings into the imagery. The gummy bears, fans argued, were meant to represent the “monsters” within one’s self and had nothing to do with NewJeans.
Funny thing is, this wasn't belift or hybe's idea it came from an external japanese director
If you think this is what it was intended to represent then then it means that other people in the industry don't like newjeans anymore https://t.co/B7drnkaytK
— Vicky.icky⁷ (@weirdalien254) February 13, 2026
"When I heard little monster, I thought about the parts of ourselves we don't like – that those little monsters inside us might actually be what HELPS US remember our magic and that felt like such a powerful idea." – Sho Yanagisawa (w/ Toshihiko Tanabe) https://t.co/30IsCePLek
— crafty gllit (@crafty_gllit) February 13, 2026
We literally have a MAKING OF video of Toshihiko Tanabe and Sho Yanagisawa explaining how they came up with the idea and NewJeans isn't brought up. https://t.co/al6HesBHqD https://t.co/30IsCePLek
— crafty gllit (@crafty_gllit) February 13, 2026
These bitches are delusional omg….ITS GUMMY BEARS. the point of the mv is anxiety awareness. The girls are eating the anxiety monsters…. https://t.co/IKcACihqPF pic.twitter.com/81sjAuKyME
— EVA/ THE SIN: VANISH (@ikeu4eva) February 13, 2026
They’re creating a situation in their heads and getting mad about it… this is literally schizophrenia https://t.co/jDk10JUuZK
— 𖨆 🍅 𝗡★𝗧 𝗖𝗨𝗧𝗘 (@skadis7) February 13, 2026
What are your thoughts on this?
