Meaning of "denial phase before becoming a fan"

Ip-Deok-Bu-Jeong-Gi

denial phase before becoming a fan입덕 부정기#마인드셋#덕질/팬덤#밈/유행어2010s Meme

a transitional state in which someone has started to like a certain subject, especially a celebrity or character, but is still unwilling to admit it and keeps denying it

"At first they said they weren't really interested, but now they only look up that singer's videos, so they're clearly in the full-on denial phase before becoming a fan."