The recent absence of Girls’ Generation’s Taeyeon and Red Velvet’s Wendy from SM Entertainment’s 30th-anniversary concert has sparked significant discussion among netizens, raising concerns about the internal dynamics between the company's artists and staff.

Taeyeon addressed fans on the platform Bubble, expressing her disappointment, "I wanted to put on an amazing performance and was eager to prepare two or even three songs, so I told the company and waited... But to put it simply, they didn’t make the preparations, so I ended up not being able to perform at all."

Similarly, Wendy communicated with fans, stating that discussions about her non-participation had concluded over a month prior, yet the official announcement was only made recently. 

In response, SM Entertainment staff members anonymously shared their perspectives on the platform Blind, refuting the artists' claims and expressing frustration over the situation.

This public exchange has led netizens to further wonder about the communication and relationship between SM Entertainment's management and its artists following this latest controversy.

One netizen shared, "It seems to fall into one of three cases: 1. After Lee Soo Man’s departure, the new internal power figures are trying to 'discipline' the artists. 2. 
The artists are being accused of power-tripping or showing poor character, leading to bad internal sentiment and losing opportunities. 3. It’s simply the company’s incompetence. Whatever the case, I hope the exposés keep coming. It's entertaining!"

Other netizens joined in on the conversation and commented:

"This is just my opinion, but is this Taeyeon’s third or even fourth contract renewal? At this stage, the revenue split for her must heavily favor her as an artist. So even if groups like RIIZE or aespa don’t bring in as much revenue as Taeyeon, the company likely profits more from them. But since Taeyeon is also a veteran, she probably won’t just follow orders obediently... which could lead to the company treating her poorly."

"This feels deliberate... How could they exclude Girls' Generation’s Taeyeon and Red Velvet’s Wendy from a concert? That’s insane. It seems like all of the reasons the original poster listed—1, 2, and 3—are at play here. It’s just crazy."

"When you look at their long history of delays with music videos and poor handling, the answer is obvious.  And this time, they even delayed the official announcement, causing a wave of refund requests. Blaming the artists in this situation just doesn’t make sense."

"When artists have many years of experience, they tend to leave. Generational shifts need to happen quickly. The idol industry will always favor rookies. You have to push them hard when they’re young and in their prime. The idea of idols continuing into their mid-30s and 40s is already strange."

"Point 2 doesn’t seem likely—given that all the veteran solo artists have called out the company, it doesn’t seem like an issue of bad personalities."

"These days, aside from the rookies, it feels like no SM artists really like SM Entertainment anymore. "

"From what I’ve seen on Blind, employees are openly siding with the company."

"It feels like SM is signaling that they won’t renew her contract. They’re practically telling her to leave outright."

"It looks like this has turned into a pride war. Since Taeyeon is such a key figure, SM might be thinking, 'Do you really think you can thrive without SM’s name behind you?' After all, not many idols who’ve left SM have managed to outshine their previous careers. Kyuhyun didn’t make a big splash, and Taemin hasn’t exactly expanded his opportunities either."

SEE ALSO: 'Gee' becomes Girls' Generation's first track to surpass 100 million Spotify streams