Teen former member of the U.S.-based K-pop group VCHA is suing the label for alleged abuse and exploitation.
Kiera Grace Madder, who previously performed with the K-pop girl group VCHA, has filed a lawsuit against JYP USA, claiming violations of child labor laws, along with abuse and exploitation.
Kiera Grace Madder has always been drawn to K-pop, captivated since childhood by its synchronized dances, stylish outfits, and unique music. In 2022, when she found out that JYP Entertainment, a prominent K-pop talent agency, intended to form a group featuring North American artists, she seized the opportunity. After auditioning for a reality show, she secured her spot in the all-girl group VCHA alongside five other teens.
However, last summer, just under a year post-debut, the group withdrew from a scheduled performance and became inactive on social media.
In a lawsuit lodged against JYP USA in December in Los Angeles County Superior Court, Madder, who goes by the stage name KG Crown, disclosed her departure from VCHA and claimed violations of child labor laws, abuse, and exploitation.
“I understood that the K-pop system demanded an immense amount of hard work—perhaps the hardest in the music industry,” Madder stated. “I considered myself a diligent worker, so I was ready to invest that effort, but I was unaware of what occurred behind the scenes.”
Following the lawsuit’s filing, JYP USA issued a statement via social media, asserting that Madder had made “one-sided public comments containing false and exaggerated allegations.” The agency declined additional comment, citing the ongoing legal proceedings.
In the court documents, Madder, referred to as “K.M., revealed that she signed her contract with JYP at the age of 15. Upon joining VCHA, the group commenced an intense training schedule, traveling between JYP’s headquarters in Seoul and their base in Los Angeles. The six girls shared a $2.5 million mansion in Beverly Hills, where Madder claims they were under constant observation.
The lawsuit states that residing in the mansion was “voluntary,” yet Madder felt pressured by JYP staff to live there. Alongside a live-in monitor, she alleges that video cameras recorded their private discussions, with the company presenting the cameras as part of the home’s alarm system at installation.
According to Madder’s lawsuit, the surveillance was a means of controlling “our eating, movements, and behavior.” She claims JYP had complete authority over the trainees’ schedules, even during off days, and that group members had to submit their plans for approval to leave the residence. Madder states she was required to seek permission to visit her mother on weekends.
“I genuinely felt as if I were in a prison and the house staff acted as the guards,” Madder remarked. “I felt like JYP had taken on a parental role, but the strictest parent I had ever known.”
The lawsuit alleges that the company “regulated [her] diet and coerced [her] into eating less.” According to Madder, their meals consisted of “small salads,” and their weight was closely monitored. “The slimmer you are, the more admiration and beauty you are afforded. It’s absurd,” Madder said. “In South Korea, we were sometimes told, ‘Lose weight or you’ll regret how you look on camera.’”
During performance training, JYP is accused of pushing the VCHA girls to extreme physical limits. The lawsuit recounts instances where Madder was denied meal breaks and water during rehearsals, and she claims she was compelled to work long hours with minimal rest.
Typically, her day began at 7 a.m. with a few hours of school, followed by rehearsals commencing at 10:30 a.m. and lasting into the night. The lawsuit noted several occasions where she was required to continue training despite injuries. One instructor allegedly singled her out, forcing her to repeat a dance move over 100 times without a break, resulting in a tendon tear in her shoulder.
“I was on the verge of tears and extremely stressed,” she recalled. “It’s one of those situations where escalation didn’t need to reach the level of abuse.”
Madder also claims she was made to rehearse while nursing injuries to her hip and leg. The court documents include photographs of her in hospital gowns, medical treatment receipts, and images of bruises she asserted were from dance training.
Screenshots of text messages in the lawsuit show Madder describing being compelled to “dance through the pain.” In another message from May, she expressed, “Honestly, I feel like I don’t have a personality anymore or that I’m not my own person. They changed me and I lost everything good about myself.”
Madder notes that as training-related stress increased, she began to miss school. She claims other group members developed eating disorders, engaged in self-harm, and in February 2024, one attempted suicide.
Since departing from the group in May 2024, she stated that she has had no communication with the other VCHA members.
Madder contends that JYP underpaid her and failed to deliver promised royalties and revenue shares, alleging she received $500 for weeks in which she worked over 12-hour days, below California’s minimum wage.
The lawsuit also states that she is burdened with more than $500,000 in debt to JYP for “company expenses.” She alleges that she was “coerced into signing contracts with mere minutes to review them,” including those written in Korean, a language she neither speaks nor reads.
Her mother, Tracey Madder, expressed in a statement that the decision to file the lawsuit “was entirely KG’s choice, which I wholeheartedly support given what she endured.” She added, “I am hopeful for the best outcome for everyone involved.”
Since leaving VCHA, Madder says she has been unable to find work, release music, or engage on social media. Upon returning home from the JYP mansion, she described feeling “brainwashed” and doubted her capability to succeed in the music industry again.
The next court date is scheduled for June 20. “I hope the judge can recognize the truth of the situation and grant me freedom,” Madder expressed. “I don’t seek fame or attention; I just want to be free. That’s my true desire: freedom.”
