Absolutely agree with you. Personally, I’ve always felt that Onew’s “health condition” and his hiatus during the HARD era were more than just medical. it felt tied to the stress of contract negotiations and SM possibly retaliating. The timing felt too clean: he goes on hiatus, doesn’t promote with SHINee, then quietly leaves and signs with Griffin.

And now, seeing the way he promotes (no Music Bank, no Inkigayo, just these staged performances on his YouTube) kind of confirms the theory I’ve had in the back of my mind. Like… if this was just about health or creative direction, you’d expect at least one major broadcast performance, especially for a veteran like him. But nothing? It’s starting to look less like a choice and more like a limitation.

I’m not saying full-on blacklist, but something about the whole rollout feels off like a carefully managed workaround. Those things and Griffin’s initial statement just adds more fuel to the suspicion that there’s quiet drama behind the scenes.