Henkka of Wota in Translation has just started working on translating MM's 20th Anniversary Book and posted
Niigaki Risa's interview. At some point, Gaki mentions how her first years were very hard for her and how she has only felt as a part of Morning Musume by the time she graduated.
Short recap: Back during 5th generation's audition an advertisement which had Gaki in it was aired on TV. Back then the MM wota still wanted MM to be a non-professional, all girls-from-the-street group and apparently some people thought she had "connections" and therefore it was unfair for her to be chosen as a member. Back then fortunately there weren't handshake events yet - or at least not as often as nowadays - but the internet was already a popular opinion-exchanging platform and there were a lot of people badtalking her. Even worse: There were people confronting her
in concert. Booing her when she introduced herself. It is not mentioned in her interview and not in the follow-up translation of a
reaction thread on 2ch on this interview, but I remember people mentioning signs like "kill yourself" and shit.
Reading the reaction thread some of those assholes are still fans today and actually
defend their actions from back then.
I mean we have a lot of shit nowadays too. I think there was one handshake event where a fan said something mean to Katsuta Rina or something. It's just so heartbreaking to read. These are mostly minors, kids, teenagers, and maybe young adults. I criticise a lot of things too, but I don't think I would ever confront a member personally about it. This is just a whole different level.