Why would SM ruin their own plans of making Karina an "IT girl" for a little bit of publicity?
Aespa were already getting bad publicity from the plagiarism scandal and their concept, in general, so I don't think SM would've thrown their FOTG under the bus.
That bullying scandal affected all the hype that SM gave her via an appearance with Taemin and Kai.
The situation is basically a repeat of what happened with Taeyong.
The FOTG and favourite member (Karina and Taeyong) got their reputation ruined so now, SM needs to push a safer member (Winter, Jaehyun and Lucas).
Giselle was already the "bad bitch" member but it's obvious that SM watered down her persona, so I don't think they would've wanted that.
You realize that nearly every single "It Girl" in a group has conveniently been both the most popular and initially the most hated member right? And a majority of the time, the hate they receive is a result of the promotion tactics of the agency behind them but they never stopped because it doesn't matter in the end.
Most of the stuff around aespa seem is laughably fake and well timed. In all actuality, what's the likelihood that 3 out of 4 have allegations pop up immediately after being revealed, 2 of them serious, but all lacking any definitive proof? The math isn't mathing
It's all clicks, comments
engagement that pushes her up in interest and that interest makes her a better candidate for collabs, cfs, hosting gigs, acting roles etc that she get actual fame from.
Karina's reputation isn't anywhere close to ruined, it's just slightly negative and it's working out really well for her.
Look at that gap despite her not being viral for her visuals, talents or performance like Winter or being in a group with a hit song. Can you honestly say she'd be up there if none of this had happened, or would she be at the bottom with Ning and Giselle?
1 or 2 years from now, it isn't going to matter when she's getting actual gigs