MOMOLAND's Daisy Says "Finding Momoland" Was Rigged

MOMOLAND’s Daisy has revealed that Mnet’s “Finding Momoland” was rigged.

It was revealed last year that the rankings on Mnet’s “Produce” series had been manipulated, and according to Daisy, the final lineup of the 2016 survival show “Finding Momoland” was manipulated as well.

“Finding Momoland” is a reality show that aired between July and September of 2016. The show involved 10 trainees from MLD Entertainment (Duble Kick Company at the time) who had to compete for spots in a new girl group, which would later become MOMOLAND. The final members were determined 60 percent based on producer evaluation, 20 percent based on online viewer votes, and 20 percent based on votes from the audience at the final performances.

On January 7, KBS published an interview they had with Daisy and her mother.

Daisy revealed, “On the day I was eliminated, the agency contacted me and asked to have a meeting the next day. They told me that they had already planned to include me in MOMOLAND regardless of my elimination and that I would debut in the next album once the promotions for the first album were over. When I entered the waiting room after my elimination, someone from the company told me not to worry because they had plans for me.” Daisy debuted with MOMOLAND’s “Wonderful Love,” which was released half a year after the group’s debut.

A source from MLD Entertainment stated, “It is true that we made an offer to Daisy to join the next album, but she joined [MOMOLAND] because she agreed to it. As an agency, we simply added a new member to fill in the aspects that were lacking in the group.”

The KBS report further explains that the MOMOLAND members had to pay for the production costs of the survival show “Finding Momoland.”

Daisy shared, “After debuting in 2017, I got my first statement of accounts. In the section for 2016, when I wasn’t [part of the group], I had debt close to 70 million won (approximately $60,000), and they said it was part of the production costs for ‘Finding Momoland.’ I heard that the costs had to be divided among the members. My dream of debuting in an idol group was strong, and I thought it was natural to pay for the production costs, so I paid.”

According to KBS, upon checking with the agency, all of the other members who participated in the show and were chosen as members of MOMOLAND had paid tens of millions of won (tens of thousands of dollars) as production costs. A source from MLD Entertainment explained, “We had already explained to the members that they would have to pay for the production costs, and it is not problematic because they all signed contracts about it.”

A source from CJ, the parent company of Mnet, denied their involvement, stating, “CJ did not directly produce ‘Finding Momoland,’ and we only programmed it for broadcasting because the agency subcontracted us. When a certain agency produces an audition program, we do not know anything about the members that are chosen, the production costs, or the promotion.”

However, contrary to the claims, Mnet’s main producing director (PD) had taken part in the press conference for the show. KBS reports that the PD had also been directly involved in decorating the stage for the show’s final performances. When MOMOLAND’s popularity grew in February 2018, Mnet aired reruns of “Finding Momoland.”

Daisy has not been participating in MOMOLAND’s activities since February 2019, and she is taking steps to cancel her contract with the agency. MOMOLAND recently made a comeback as six members.

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