Record Label Boots K-Pop Member, Then Sues

NewJeans' lineup just got smaller—and a lot more litigious. South Korean label Ador has filed a compensation lawsuit against 20-year-old former member Danielle Marsh, a day after booting her from the hit K-pop group. The Yonhap news agency reports the suit also targets an unnamed family member of Danielle's and the group's former producer, Min Hee-jin, with Ador arguing they share "significant responsibility" for the turmoil surrounding NewJeans' attempted exit from the label, per the Guardian. It's reportedly seeking about $30 million in damages from the trio.

The move follows a Seoul court's October decision that all five members must stick to their contracts with Ador, a subsidiary of Hybe, home to mega-group BTS. NewJeans tried to walk away from the company in late 2024, accusing it of mistreatment and deliberate efforts to damage their careers. Ador hit back with an injunction prohibiting the group from commercial activities—a request the court granted in March—then announced Monday that Danielle's deal had been terminated because it would be "difficult for her to continue" as an Ador artist.

The label says NewJeans members were fed "persistently distorted and biased information," fueling "significant misunderstandings." The group has painted a different picture: Member Hanni Pham told South Korea's parliament in October that they faced "deliberate miscommunications and manipulation," and Danielle has alleged she was intensely monitored and even had her meals controlled during trainee days—claims the company hasn't publicly addressed. Authorities have so far sided with management; a workplace bullying complaint by Hanni was rebuffed on the grounds that the members aren't technically employees but "exceptional entities."

The New York Times notes that the group tried to rebrand as NJZ during the conflict, as well as created solo ads with Western brands—but the courts eventually barred the members from acting independently. Three of the four remaining members have agreed to stay with Ador, while Minji is still negotiating, according to the label. Fans, rallying under the slogan "NewJeans is five or nothing," fear a permanent fracture of the group that debuted in 2022 and quickly became one of Hybe's most valuable assets, becoming the eighth bestselling act globally just a year after they hit the scene, per Australia's ABC.