The thing is, a lot of the people still hating on T-ara are not/never were fans. Initially, like you said, T-ara fans were probably worried that the group members were not the kind of people we thought they were. If anyone was conflicted with who to believe, it was probably because both sides (Hwayoung vs the others) were part of the same group that we loved. It's usually easier to empathize with the victim, so a lot of fans not only felt negatively towards T-ara, but more importantly they felt bad for Hwayoung. Eventually, though, because we are fans, we try to assume the best and are likely fickle as hell when it comes to being convinced they did no wrong. Non-fans though, they don't care. They won't understand why we'd assume they were innocent and they would still view everything negatively.
I completely understand what you're saying though, I know enough about Big Bang to know this isn't some kind of huge 180 degree shift in what people thought Seungri was like
. What I'm saying, though, is that basically haters gonna hate. The same way T-ara fans might say "actually they seemed pretty close when you watch more footage, I don't think Hwayoung was bullied" and non-fans will say "YEAH RIGHT BULLSHIT THEY'RE ALL BITCHES", Big Bang fans will defend their group--and regardless of whether or not it's actually a huge departure from what people thought they were like, people
are either denying it or defending it, because others that don't know Big Bang or don't care are going to use this to try to bring them down. For Big Bang fans it's not a big deal, just like how for T-ara fans the bullying scandal is no longer a big deal. It's not really a comparison of the two scandals or the kind of damage the scandal does to the group, it's more just upset T-ara fans assuming some Big Bang fans were condemning T-ara and going "OH, So when YOUR group is in a problem you just brush it off and say that's just what they're like or that it's a lie and not a big deal, but when we try to defend T-ara you say we're delusional, gullible, and support bitches?!" Because, let's not forget, the primary purpose of any group affiliation in kpop is to shit on every other group to defend the honor of your own
That said, this scandal doesn't seem like a big deal at all and I wouldn't be surprised if we've heard the last of it and no one even cares anymore
It'd probably take more than a guy having sex (OH GOD NO ANYTHING BUT THAT!) to get all that negative attention away from T-ara
lmfao...