“So Ching” Natalie So, a member of the Hong Kong girl group Collar and the girlfriend of Mo Li, the dancer who was severely injured at boy band Mirror’s concert, has seemingly taken a dig at the management company of both groups.
After days of staying mum, the girl group member began posting on her Instagram account recently about last month’s infamous accident involving a huge video screen falling on the middle of the stage in the Hong Kong Coliseum and hitting two dancers, including her boyfriend who became paralyzed from the neck down. Health authorities and his father said he is still in critical condition, but his vital signs are stable and he is able to communicate.
On Wednesday, So posted an Instagram story with a post from an Instagram account that features anonymous messages. The post criticized her management company and lamented the treatment of dancers in Hong Kong.
In particular, the image of the post she chose to share talked about raising awareness on “the stage environment, performers’ salaries and their safety”; “the success of Viu’s business model, which focuses on getting quick results with low costs” and “the quality of fans, who disregarded repeated accidents and did not pressure [organizers] to halt the concert series so that they can see their idols”.
Viu refers to ViuTV, the Hong Kong television station that broadcasts King Maker, the talent competition in which Mirror and Collar were formed in Season 1 and Season 4 respectively. Li also participated in the contest in the same season as Mirror.
Mirror and Collar members were signed to ViuTV after the end of their respective season, but later moved to MakerVille, an artiste management company that branched off from ViuTV.
The other images of the post remarked ironically “how dancers are indeed artists”, who only “become famous after experiencing death”.
They also mentioned how dancers are not recognized in Hong Kong, adding their poor pay often forces them to leave the field.
The caption of the post reads: “Every time you ask [Mirror’s manager Ahfa Wong] to add oil, or Viu to add oil, you are lending further support to pressurizing the dancers and adding another stomp on those injured.”
So missed out on a recent radio interview with her eight-piece girl group, which took place days after the accident.
Meanwhile, police and a government-led task force have been probing the cause of the accident, with MakerVille CEO Lo Ting-fai; Wong; “Fran9” Francis Lam, the producer of the concert; and dancers involved in the shows called to the police’s Kowloon West Regional Headquarters in the past weeks to help with investigations.
The task force recently said that the accident was likely caused by the snapping of a cable holding up the screen due to metal fatigue.
The concert series has been marred by mishaps since its first show, with band members and dancers falling or almost falling due to issues such as the stage design.
The series of accidents led to over 10,000 fans signing an online petition demanding organizers improve the safety situation.
