His openness is refreshing.
Koreaboo
11 minutes ago
A former idol candidly talked about his experience in coming out of the closet publicly in a guest appearance on an online talk show.
Aben | @aben6011/Instagram
The former idol, Aben, first appeared on the small screen in 2006 at the age of 24 through the boy teenage idol show Mo Fan Bang Bang Tang in Taiwan.
Aben on Mo Fan Bang Bang Tang in 2006
Subsequently, he successfully made his formal debut in 2008 as a member of Choc7, the 2nd boy idol group formed by the show.
Aben (third from the left) as a member of Choc7
While he never came out as gay during his idol days, there was no shortage of such rumors surrounding him throughout the years. One of the most talked about rumors is the alleged relationship between him and popular idol, former Fahrenheit member Aaron Yan.
Aaron Yan (left) and Aben (right) | 阿本本人/Facebook
Although the two never admitted to being in a relationship, and the public believes they broke up many years ago, Aben hugely supported Aaron Yan when the latter was hit with #MeToo accusations.
Our group of friends will always be here for you! We’ll take turns being at our lowest points! Sometimes, you guys will be there for me, and other times, we will be there for you! We’ll all get better.
— Aben to Aaron Yan
Aben | @aben6011/Instagram
While Aben had shown his support for the community by attending pride parades, he stayed mum about his own relationships until 2023, when he came out in public and began candidly talking about his relationships on various shows.
Aben | @aben6011/Instagram
He even revealed that he got chosen for Mo Fan Bang Bang Tang after accompanying a “friend” to the auditions, and that “friend” was actually his first-ever boyfriend!
Aben (right) talking about his first boyfriend
In one of his guest appearances, the show host asked, “How come you’re suddenly able to talk about this now?” To which Aben responded with a quote that shocked the host.
I was a male idol back then. A male idol couldn’t just say he likes eating d*ck.
— Aben
Aben (right) | CBOOK TAIWAN/@YouTube
Aben hilariously created a greeting for an idol coming out of the closet, completed with hand gestures that some idol groups use when greeting their fans.
Hello, I’m from Choc7, I like eating d*ck.
— Aben
[Video could not be displayed]
He even acted out what the idol would do after the greeting in this hypothetical situation…
[Video could not be displayed]
The show host then asked how Aben’s boyfriend feels about his revealing their relationship and talking about it so openly in public.
He’s indifferent. He’s okay with it because he’s a nobody, and the public doesn’t know who he is hahaha. After the relationship was revealed, everyone was like, ‘Who’s that?’ So it’s not a big deal.
— Aben
As for why he wanted to make the relationship public, the former idol said,
I think part of it was because I wanted to use the little influence I had to turn something like this into an everyday, normal thing. It wasn’t like ‘OH, I’M TOTALLY COMING OUT OF THE CLOSET.’ It was just a regular thing.
[Host: Just like a simple, normal relationship.]
Right. If you get cheated on, you get cheated on. If you want to eat d*ck, you eat d*ck. If you need to drink alcohol, you drink alcohol. It’s just like everyone else. Who here hasn’t eaten d*ck?
— Aben
Aben (right) | CBOOK TAIWAN/@YouTube
Great to hear Aben is now able to be himself and talk about his relationships freely! Aben has actually been in South Korea recently, even being captured on television enjoying a baseball game!