Monsta X is a South Korean hip hop boy group formed in 2015.

Here they are.

Xiaxue is an allegedly famous Singapore blogger.

Here she is.

Now, these two entities had absolutely nothing to do with each other until Friday, Feb. 24.

By pure coincidence, Xiaxue and Monsta X members took the same flight.

Now, Monsta X being a popular South Korean boy group, saw their fair share of rabid supporters waiting at the airport -- something that Xiaxue noted on her Twitter.

This fateful meeting prompted Xiaxue to google the Korean band, and she tweeted out her first impressions.

Before making a prediction of their fan's reactions.

Prescient.

Backlash

The outrage can be mostly divided into three camps.

1. Some took offence to her use of the word "trannies".

Xiaxue was adamant that she was not transphobic, pointing to her love of shows featuring transgendered individuals.

The replies did not consider that enough to disprove their claims of transphobia though.

Now, this is the problematic part of the whole fiasco.

The question of whether someone is bothered by the term "trannies" or by Xiaxue insulting a Korean boy band, and are using the term's usage as a means of attacking her becomes incredibly blurred throughout this whole exchange.

The examples above, for instance, feature profile pictures of various Korean idols, which might lead one to assume they are heavily invested in that scene.

So let's put some distance between the two, and focus on a few tweets from people that don't seem to be K-pop fans, but still took offence.

Now, this is one of the first few tweets replying Xiaxue, and a quick scan of his twitter account shows no explicit reference to any Korean band.

The Twitter user later replied that he was indeed a non-binary, which is associated with being transgender.

Now, Xiaxue's response to a person who seemed to have no stakes in the Korean pop scene, might be explained from another tweet to a non-Monsta X fan.

Which is a contradiction of sorts, as "obvious when offence was meant" is quite subjective to each individual.

A point, she herself admitted.

Which brings us to the significantly less nuanced second point.

2. Protecting idols

The second camp is incredibly straight-forward.

Their motto seems to be, "You talk shit about my idols, I come after you."

And perhaps their disregard for any higher cause can be exemplified in this tweet.

A tweet that even Xiaxue appreciated.

Other explicit insults included insinuating that the Monsta X members were prettier than Xiaxue.

This other tweet summed up the vast majority of those defending Monsta X.

But like all crusades, the fringes meandered into truly vile territories.

A point noted by even K-pop fans themselves.

For a crash course on what is socially acceptable trash talk, this tweet perfectly sums it up.

3. Trainee outrage

This camp consists of one person who completely misunderstood the issue at hand.

Traineesexuals deserve equal rights too.

Top photo from Xiaxue's Instagram

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