Virtual AI girl group BABYQUEEN published a letter in the voice of member Mity saying she was pregnant and would pause all activities to rest, and the notice went viral; roughly an hour after a follow-up apology letter, the team account previewed a comeback single, and on October 14 the group returned as a four-member lineup teasing "Next Level". The operators said the story was fictional and that they chose an inappropriate reason to retire Mity because one person could not keep up with running several AI characters; they described BABYQUEEN as a hobby project by several K-pop fans with no company investment, and said they did not profit from it. The creators said they faced body shaming, personal attacks and harassment of family members as discussion spread, while Chinese tech and culture outlets criticised turning pregnancy into a plot device and compared the case with virtual influencer Lil Miquela's staged leukemia storyline.