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K-pop idols usually suffer from constant public scrutiny. As glamorous as fame may seem, it is hard to maintain the ideal image fans expect of you, and some small actions or words could seriously impact one's career for the worst.
As a recent example, K-pop group DAY6's member Jae had to apologize to the public for an inappropriate joke he made while hosting a gaming live stream on the app Twitch. The K-pop idol faced a lot of flak from netizens for his inappropriate innuendos and had to shut down his channel on Twitch for a while.
Apart from this, several idols have also been called out for being engrossed in their phones during fan meets, female idols following male K-pop idols on Instagram and vice versa, teasing each other about their physical characteristics, etc.
Quite a few K-pop idols have created controversies for unintentionally doing things or joking about things that did not go down well with the public and landed them in a soup. Hawk-eyed netizens pay attention to every little detail regarding the idols' behaviors and never fail to call them out when they feel they are in the wrong.
We have compiled a list of 5 K-pop idols who caused controversies with their actions and words.
5 times K-pop idols caused controversies with their words and actions
1) TXT's Taehyun
The second youngest member of the K-pop group landed himself in an uncomfortable situation in 2021 when he encouraged fans to buy their albums in a rather unconventional way.
On one of his live streams on VLive, the member saw a comment from a fan congratulating him for the group's album sales post their comeback Minisode1: Blue Hour, to which the K-pop idol cheekily replied:
“Well, our happiness… is directly related to the sales of our new album. I want to be happier.”
Many fans, however, came up to defend the idol, reminding the fandom that Taehyun has a crude sense of humor and tends to say sarcastic things with a straight face. Since he was playing around with his fans, people should not take his words literally.
2) ATEEZ's Yunho
K-pop group ATEEZ's member Yunho recently drew sharp criticism from his fans for using a culturally inappropriate word.
On the variety show Curse of the Money hole, he commented on the host's appearance using a problematic term, leading to a community of fans taking offense.
The host wore a pirate costume that Yunho declared was fit to play "Indian poker." The name was widely used before, but when people realized it was derogatory, they changed it to Blind Man's Poker.
The name "Indian poker" was derived because a player needs to put cards on his head, which looks similar to the indigenous costumes of the people of the First Nations. The word "Indian" was used as a derogatory term to look down upon and demean them and is thus no longer used.
Fans, especially those hailing from the first world nations, expressed their concerns about the ignorant behavior of the K-pop idol and sprang up to try to find ways to educate him about different cultures.
3) Red Velvet's Wendy
K-pop group Red Velvet's member Wendy faced flak from the international community when she made some problematic gestures on a radio show.
When asked to show talent, the K-pop idol showcased her accent of white women, black men, and black women, which she picked up during her stay in Canada.
Her imitation of the communities did not go down well with the public, and she got called out for being racist.
The matter was particularly sensitive since K-pop has been associated with several instances of cultural appropriation, especially for using a discriminated communities' indigenous dress or religious artifacts as props for thematic performances.
Wendy's imitation of the accent was, therefore, a matter of insensitivity to the Black community, which has been demeaned through the ages for their color and culture.
4) BTS' Jimin
The Serendipity singer got into a controversy for wearing a problematic T-shirt, leading to a Japanese TV show canceling the group's appearance on one of its episodes.
It was in 2018 when the South Korean and Japanese governments were engaged in a political face-off, and a picture of K-pop group BTS member Jimin wearing a T-shirt surfaced online.
Although not clear when he wore it, the T-shirt had a picture of Japan's Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings with the words 'Patriotism Our History Liberation Korea' written on it. The image hurt the sentiments of Japanese fans, leading to the show canceling the band's appearance indefinitely.
BIGHIT MUSIC had to offer an official apology on the K-pop idol's behalf, even though some fans came up to defend it. They reported that the T-shirt was a gift from a fansite, and Jimin had no intentions of hurting the Japanese people's sentiments through it.
5) Enhypen mocking Sunoo's weight
The K-pop group ENHYPEN has been facing repeated criticisms online for constantly teasing one of their members, Sunoo.
Netizens have criticized the members for body shaming Sunoo in repeated public appearances and being ignorant of the effects it could have on the member itself or the viewers and fans, most of whom are young fans.
Member Sunoo has a chubbier face and a broader built when compared to the other members and has been subjected to several instances of alleged bullying at the hands of the members.
In a Vlive, the members Jake, Niki, and Jungwon were seen reacting to Bixby's statements and associated Sunoo with the word 'fat' occurred by the AI.
The members also called Sunoo a 'wild boar.' Sunoo also tried to laugh it off, adding to the joke by saying that whenever he bumps into member Sunghoon, the latter acts as if he's been hit by a wild boar.
The incident implied that this unintentional body shaming was a regular issue Sunoo had to deal with.
Although Sunoo has always brushed off the members' jokes, netizens have asked the company to educate the idols and ensure that the members exercise more caution in the future.
For a K-pop idol, the moment they debut, their life is handed on a platter to fans to relish. With every bit of detail being scrutinized about the idols, even one careless comment or reply can get them in deep trouble.
Time and again, fans have repeatedly ensured holding their favorite idol accountable, educating them about cultures, and requesting them to be more mindful of their words.
