Fatou (Fuh-to) Samba became the 2nd black idol in the K-pop industry when she debuted on Oct. 16, 2020 with BlackSwan. Fellow bandmate Larissa ,commonly known as Leia (Lay-uh), also contributed to the popularization of the group because she brings in a large Brazilian fanbase. Unfortunately, a feud between the two members started on Nov. 12 when it was said that a family member of Leia had revealed to a Brazilian fan page of hers that she had been bullied by Fatou. 

Blinded with anger, the Brazilians fans ganged up on Fatou using the information given by the fan page that the anonymous member provided. This caused a major division between fans who sided with Leia or Fatou. 

“I’m on Fatou’s side because the accusations came out of nowhere with no evidence on what went down,” said Jasmine Garcia, a senior.

After a few days with no answers, Fatou decided to call out Leia and her behavior on Twitter on Nov. 14, providing four pictures as evidence of what happened. Fatou recalled moments where Leia made everything about herself and how Leia had disrespected her family.

While Fatou was able to see her family, Leia was not, angering Fatou. Fatou told fans how although she does not care about what is said about her, she draws the line at family. 

“Personally, I do not know both girls it’s best to wait till all statements are out. Always believe the victim,” Aimee Ortega, former student. 

Fans have witnessed how on Leia’s twitter account she had liked racist posts her Brazilian fans had said about Fatou and then unliked them afterwards. After seeing this, fans were outraged at how immature she had behaved during the whole situation and for encouraging such behavior to fans.

Fans had more of a reason not to believe the accusations after they had seen a clip of Leia crying over how much she loved Fatou as her friend. 

“It’s crazy racism is still a thing everyone should just handle situations appropriately because bullying will only put people at risk, and it endangers the lives of students and adults,” Garcia said. 

The company DR music released a statement concerning both members apologizing for the situation at hand and stated the group was only in a constructive dispute. The company asked fans not to trap this dispute in the frame of bullying.

After several conversations with the members, the company stated that the two girls admitted to the incident and realized the importance of having each other. It was also said that both Leia and Fatou will prove their friendship has not changed through their activities, making the fans think it was all an act by the members. 

“If it weren’t for attention, it would be some sort of message whether it’s for help or to plot something where it puts their jobs at risk,” Ortega said. 

Even though the DR company claims that the feud has subsided, fans have taken note that there appears to be a gap between Leia and the other members of Blackswan.