“People just want to drag idols”: TWICE’s Sana’s fans defend the singer after an old video of her calling a child her ideal type resurfaces

A controversy concerning TWICE’s Sana is making rounds on the internet lately. After GOT7’s BamBam's controversial statement when he called NewJeans’ Haerin, who is underage, as his ideal type, K-pop fans have dug out TWICE’s Sana’s old video wherein member gushed about the show host’s toddler son.

The incident happened on Turkids on the Block in 2021 when three of TWICE’s members appeared on the show to do promotions. At one point, Chaeyoung brought up the show host's child and stated that he was TWICE’s Sana's ideal type. Although K-pop fans have recently been calling her out, ONCEs have jumped to her defense and claimed that others are just making a mountain out of a molehill since the singer probably said it in jest.

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TWICE’s Sana under fire for calling Turkids on the Block’s host’s toddler son her ideal type

During TWICE's apperance on Turkids on the Block show in 2021, member Chaeyoung revealed that Sana really likes the host Lee Yongjin’s son and that he is her “Isanghyeong” or ideal type. Additionally, Chaeyoung shared that the Japanese member once showed her a photo, saying she had found her ideal type. However, the twist in the tale is that he is just a baby.

Here, Chaeyoung was referring to host Lee Yongjin’s toddler son. Host Lee Yongin played along and offered to send his son’s pictures to TWICE’s Sana, to which she readily agreed. Towards the end, the Japanese member joked that she was happy to guest on the show and meet her father-in-law.

Following this, a certain section of K-pop fans called out TWICE’s Sana for her problematic behavior. However, ONCE’s have taken it upon themselves to defend the singer, claiming that the comments are said in jest and don't need to be scrutinized too seriously.

ONCEs repeatedly clarified that the Fancy singer meant it merely as a joke and that she was complimenting the host’s toddler son by calling him cute and adorable. Coincidentally, at the time of the video’s original release in 2021, the video did not stir any controversy. However, now in light of BamBam’s recent controversy, TWICE’s Sana’s video has gained attention again.

For those unversed, GOT7’s BamBam recently came under fire for his comments on NewJeans’ Haerin during an episode of Bam’s House, leading to the singer being criticized by K-pop fans. While interacting with YouTuber Poongja, he shared that he is a fan of NewJeans’ Haerin and aespa’s Winter and that their music is healing to him. He also confessed that he likes women with short hair.

After some time, YouTuber Poongja asked him to choose between Transit Love’s Nayeon and NewJeans’ Haerin, to which he replies with the latter's name. However, he second-guessed himself immediately, bringing up her young age and saying that it is risky to mention a 16-year-old idol since fans might decipher different meanings from this.

Soon after this, K-pop fans began criticizing BamBam for making inappropriate comments about NewJeans’ Haerin, who is almost a decade younger than him. Following this, ABYSS, BamBam’s agency, released a statement sharing that they would be taking legal action against malicious commenters, implying that they will sue fans who wrote nasty things about the Sour and Sweet singer.

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More about TWICE’s Sana

TWICE’s Sana, or Sana Minatozaki, is one of the three Japanese members of the popular K-pop girl group TWICE alongside Momo and Mina. Born in Osaka, she revealed that she loved singing and dancing and was hugely inspired by the K-pop girl group Girls’ Generation.

She was scouted by one of JYP Entertainment’s employee, who convinced her to audition for the JYP Japan audition the following day. She passed the audition and joined JYP’s trainee program in April 2012, wherein she was required to move to South Korea and train under the agency.

She eventually debuted with TWICE in 2015. In February 2021, she became the first member of the group to release a solo single after she covered Sotsugyou, a 2020 single by Japanese band Kobukuro. This year, TWICE’s Japanese line, Momo, Mina and Sana, have reportedly been formed as the group’s first subunit called MiSaMo, who slated to make their Japanese debut in July.