ITZY's Lia gets embroiled in an alleged colorist remark controversy (Image via Twitter/ITZYofficial)ITZY’s Lia came under fire for her comments regarding Chaeryeong in Kim Shin-young’s Noon Song of Hope radio show broadcast on July 19. The former told the latter that she would be “neither fair nor s*xy” if she got a tan. Many fans believed that the comment was colorist and showed her perception towards dark or tan-skinned people.A fan, who received the opportunity to video call with ITZY as part of winning a fan sign, brought the comment to Lia’s attention. The 22-year-old singer was quick to apologize for her wrong choice of words. She said that she wasn’t aware of the issue but that hurting and offending people was not her intention.“First of all, I’m not really sure about this issue at the moment, but if that’s what people understood, I’m so sorry for that, and that was my mistake. That was definitely not my intention. So, I don’t want any more people to get hurt.”n ♡@cutiesjisuITZY 220720 Soundwave Video CallLia from ITZY addresses the comments about Charyeong's skin color and apologizes:"If that's what people understood I'm so sorry for that, it was my mistake, that was definitely not my intention."248774932ITZY 220720 Soundwave Video CallLia from ITZY addresses the comments about Charyeong's skin color and apologizes:"If that's what people understood I'm so sorry for that, it was my mistake, that was definitely not my intention." https://t.co/5zWKxONCaAWhen the alleged colorist remarks came to light, MIDZYs, the group’s fandom, expressed that they wanted to educate Lia on the issue, and not attack her. ITZY’s Lia lands up in trouble for her alleged colorist remarks towards ChaeryeongIn the July 19 live broadcast of Kim Shin-young’s radio show, ITZY’s Lia’s remarks over tan skin landed her in trouble. Netizens, fans and non-fans alike, alleged that the comments made were colorist. The K-pop industry’s image is stained with multiple controversies surrounded by thoughtless comments. The SNEAKERS girl group is a recent addition to the list.In a segment, Chaeryeong shared that she wanted to get a tan in the past. However, she did not go ahead with it, as Lia told her that she might end up looking neither pale nor “s*xy.” Lia also added that her pale skin is what makes her unique, and that the tan would take her uniqueness away.Per @COZYxBEAR, an ITZY fan account with 35.k followers on Twitter, the conversation was:베어²¹²@COZYxBEARChaer: i thought about tanning before, lia unnie told me "if you really did, you might not look pale or either sexy, (since chaer mentioned before she is really hard to get tan,natural pale skin) you'll just be ambiguously in the middle"Lia: chaer has her own atmosphere which(1)1024356Chaer: i thought about tanning before, lia unnie told me "if you really did, you might not look pale or either sexy, (since chaer mentioned before she is really hard to get tan,natural pale skin) you'll just be ambiguously in the middle"Lia: chaer has her own atmosphere which(1) https://t.co/BWtfupDxkG베어²¹²@COZYxBEARher pale skin makes her more unique.Chaer: i feel thankful now, for telling me this beforeDJ: that's good! that's how you can be the star shine in the night (2)what Lia said was just based on "Chaeryeong".she hope chaeryeong wouldn't lose her unique chame429115her pale skin makes her more unique.Chaer: i feel thankful now, for telling me this beforeDJ: that's good! that's how you can be the star shine in the night (2)what Lia said was just based on "Chaeryeong".she hope chaeryeong wouldn't lose her unique chameThe comment did not sit right with fans and divided the fandom into two. On the one hand, fans discussed that ITZY’s Lia’s remarks had “colorist undertones” and stemmed from a deep-rooted desire to disregard any shade of skin lighter than white.🍰@lovemygz@jminpaw they are trying to twist li@’s words into something good when what she had told chaeryeong obviously had colorist undertones twitter.com/cozyxbear/stat…베어²¹²@COZYxBEARChaer: i thought about tanning before, lia unnie told me "if you really did, you might not look pale or either sexy, (since chaer mentioned before she is really hard to get tan,natural pale skin) you'll just be ambiguously in the middle"Lia: chaer has her own atmosphere which(1)6356Chaer: i thought about tanning before, lia unnie told me "if you really did, you might not look pale or either sexy, (since chaer mentioned before she is really hard to get tan,natural pale skin) you'll just be ambiguously in the middle"Lia: chaer has her own atmosphere which(1) https://t.co/BWtfupDxkG@jminpaw they are trying to twist li@’s words into something good when what she had told chaeryeong obviously had colorist undertones twitter.com/cozyxbear/stat…𝓕@wolfietimanot lia being a colorist… #ITZY6not lia being a colorist… #ITZY https://t.co/8pR7eSejV8Kweeni♡⁷@Kweenii_AyeOhNo@ayyshaatta @owentodawn @dwn127 I love Itzy, but a lot of K-pop idols get away with racism & being colorist. I personally don’t think Lia’s racist, I just think she’s also ignorant like the majority of SK. I’m sure you’re a great person, but trying to justify your idol when they’ve messed up, isn’t okay.12@ayyshaatta @owentodawn @dwn127 I love Itzy, but a lot of K-pop idols get away with racism & being colorist. I personally don’t think Lia’s racist, I just think she’s also ignorant like the majority of SK. I’m sure you’re a great person, but trying to justify your idol when they’ve messed up, isn’t okay.len @ txt in sf@lnjminLia's comment, intended or not, IS colorist because she's saying that Chaeryoung loses visual appeal if she gets darker... that is not ok and we should not be coming up with excuses to try and soften the blow. Societal change starts on an individual basis. twitter.com/allthelia/stat…all things lia@alltheliaThe context of the conversation and actual meaning of it was to say that Chaeryeong’s pale complexion is what makes her unique and she shouldn’t change it. It’s not a discussion of what skin colour is ideal but about Chaeryeong and how she came to accept who she is.22624The context of the conversation and actual meaning of it was to say that Chaeryeong’s pale complexion is what makes her unique and she shouldn’t change it. It’s not a discussion of what skin colour is ideal but about Chaeryeong and how she came to accept who she is.Lia's comment, intended or not, IS colorist because she's saying that Chaeryoung loses visual appeal if she gets darker... that is not ok and we should not be coming up with excuses to try and soften the blow. Societal change starts on an individual basis. twitter.com/allthelia/stat…On the other hand, many believed that people were twisting ITZY’s Lia’s words. They talked about the context of the conversation. As per them, she wanted to lift Chaeryeong’s confidence for her naturally pale skin and wanted her to embrace it.all things lia@alltheliaThe context of the conversation and actual meaning of it was to say that Chaeryeong’s pale complexion is what makes her unique and she shouldn’t change it. It’s not a discussion of what skin colour is ideal but about Chaeryeong and how she came to accept who she is.1739530The context of the conversation and actual meaning of it was to say that Chaeryeong’s pale complexion is what makes her unique and she shouldn’t change it. It’s not a discussion of what skin colour is ideal but about Chaeryeong and how she came to accept who she is.SassyHyunjin@Multistan054@ntltcjmn Yeji started by saying her skin was darker than Chaeryeong's and then Chaeryeon said she wanted to get tanned too, but Lia said Chaer's pale skin is her charm and she advised her not to get a tan before their debut. In no way did Lia mean to come of as racist or colorist.2@ntltcjmn Yeji started by saying her skin was darker than Chaeryeong's and then Chaeryeon said she wanted to get tanned too, but Lia said Chaer's pale skin is her charm and she advised her not to get a tan before their debut. In no way did Lia mean to come of as racist or colorist.ًr | stream #SNEAKERS@allinhwangs@allkpop Lia just told Chaeryeong to keep her pale skin because she has her own charm with having that. She DIDN'T AND NEVER said that being tan is ugly or anyth close to that. You taking this out of context and mistranslating it + ppl in the QRTs quickly jumping on Lia need to stop.14038@allkpop Lia just told Chaeryeong to keep her pale skin because she has her own charm with having that. She DIDN'T AND NEVER said that being tan is ugly or anyth close to that. You taking this out of context and mistranslating it + ppl in the QRTs quickly jumping on Lia need to stop. https://t.co/4sMWTdqNqYjayla@JWYBARBIEchaeryeong wanted to become tan like the rest of the members and lia told her to embrace her skin color. don’t think she was saying anything negative about ppl having naturally darker skin?12915chaeryeong wanted to become tan like the rest of the members and lia told her to embrace her skin color. don’t think she was saying anything negative about ppl having naturally darker skin?A group of fans also believed that Lia could have chosen better words to boost Chaeryeong’s morale.☽ giselle's lingo | SR22B@user_0127Well i'm always open to 2nd chances and I understand where Lia is coming from as a brown tan person. She probably meant to say that Chae's pale skin is one of her standout feature however poor choice of words led to something different. Colorism is bad and let's all take account. twitter.com/cutiesjisu/sta…n ♡@cutiesjisuITZY 220720 Soundwave Video CallLia from ITZY addresses the comments about Charyeong's skin color and apologizes:"If that's what people understood I'm so sorry for that, it was my mistake, that was definitely not my intention."24945ITZY 220720 Soundwave Video CallLia from ITZY addresses the comments about Charyeong's skin color and apologizes:"If that's what people understood I'm so sorry for that, it was my mistake, that was definitely not my intention." https://t.co/5zWKxONCaAWell i'm always open to 2nd chances and I understand where Lia is coming from as a brown tan person. She probably meant to say that Chae's pale skin is one of her standout feature however poor choice of words led to something different. Colorism is bad and let's all take account. twitter.com/cutiesjisu/sta…violet@st0rmbreaker99I really hope what Lia said is taken out of context because…like I know firsthand how colorism is ingrained in Asian culture but that really was a poor choice of words1I really hope what Lia said is taken out of context because…like I know firsthand how colorism is ingrained in Asian culture but that really was a poor choice of wordsITZY’s Lia apologized for her comments and reassured that she would educate herself better.“And I think that’s something I need to do… take more time and kind of maybe have a chance to speak out again. Thank you for letting me know.”Meanwhile, even though the atmosphere is tense in the MIDZY fandom, ITZY’s first music show win for SNEAKERS on Music Bank was able to provide some relief for fans.