Street Man Fighter lands in trouble after producers criticized for sexist remarks

Mnet’s dance reality competition Street Man Fighter recently faced severe criticism due to its producers’ allegedly sexist remarks. During a press conference on the day of the competition’s premiere on August 23, chief producer Kwon Yeong-chan commented on the different perspectives the male version offers compared to its predecessor, Street Woman Fighter.

According to the Korea JoongAng Daily, the chief producer said that the male participants “displayed loyalty and pride more often” while the female participants displayed “jealousy and greed.”

Kwon’s words and thoughts were termed highly problematic by netizens, and Kwon was criticized for being sexist and influenced by “gender stereotypes.”

Comments criticizing the producer's remarks (Image via pannchoa)

After the news made headlines on South Korean online forums, both international and domestic netizens praised Street Woman Fighter and said they would be boycotting the show.

---

“SMF is all about toxic masculinity”: Netizens bash Street Man Fighter for its sexist and homophobic controversies

Street Man Fighter has only released one episode but has already landed in trouble multiple times. The show’s producer, Kwon Yeong-chan, shared his opinion on the difference between the male and female versions, saying women were more jealous and greedy while men showed more loyalty and pride.

In the same press conference, producer-director Choi Jeong-nam also said that the dance moves of this season’s participants were “definitely different” than the previous. He added,

“[For 'Street Man Fighter'] We really focused on shooting the dance battle scenes. The power that the male dancers display is certainly different. I think that the audience will be touched by the solidarity and friendships of the male participants. We hope to successfully reflect these narratives on the screen."

Both Kwon and Choi became the targets of online criticism. Viewers commented that they would not watch the show after learning about their sexist remarks.

While the fire raged after the producers’ comments, the first episode did not sit well with viewers either. This time, the show and its crews were accused of being homophobic towards one of the crews, Team EO-DDAE.

Street Man Fighter, much like its predecessor, had an introductory segment where each dance crew is shown the criticisms thrown at them by participant crews. It’s a move viewers often say was scripted to make the competition raw, create buzz, and improve viewership.

During that segment, dance crew EO-DDAE, an openly gay crew, was mocked by others after clips of their past shows were displayed. Netizens instantly disliked it and criticized Street Man Fighter as a gateway to toxic masculinity.

Adding fire to the fuel was another crew, Local Champs’ video exaggerating and mocking NewJeans’ Hype Boy. As per netizens, the main target was BLACK.Q, one of NewJean’s performance directors, who is also a part of team EO-DDAE.

Street Man Fighter was produced after the impressive and unexpected success of Street Woman Fighter. The competition brought the South Korean dance crews to fame and gave viewers an insight into the music industry, which is often overshadowed by idol music.

The competition show premiered on August 23, 2022, and airs weekly on Tuesdays on Mnet’s channels.