With fame come controversies and TikTok trends. And Netflix’s latest hit, Squid Game, is no stranger to either. The fan-favorite show has given rise to several trends, but the latest one seems to have landed Sorn, a Thai TikTok star, into trouble.Squid Game’s rise to fame has been commendable, with the Korean show quickly establishing its place as Netflix’s most-watched show of all time. The show broke language, culture, and even color barriers, with one of the major characters being a Pakistani immigrant, Ali. While the show’s popularity is still increasing, a certain seemingly innocuous TikTok trend may see the downfall of a particular TikTok star.Sorn received backlash for Squid Game TikTokSorn, who is also part of the South Korean K-Pop group CLC, apart from being a TikTok sensation, is receiving backlash due to her TikTok video. In the video, made in collaboration with a skincare brand Wishtrend, the singer recommends beauty products for each character based on her opinion. View this post on Instagram Instagram PostThus, the protagonist Gi Hun gets a superior makeup product, while Han Min Yeo gets only the Vitamin C serum minus the sunscreen. The old man Il Nam is deemed worthy of only a cotton pad, while the Deok Su is similarly given a notoriously bad serum. Of course, for Gong Yoo’s character, and the fan favourite North Korean defector, Squid Game’s Kang Sae Byeok, Sorn saves the best- herself.The K-Pop star has come under fire for her choice of products for Ali, played by Indian actor Anupam Tripathi. Sorn offers him many more products than the others, apparently because he is her favorite. Several people appeared to think the reason was his skin tone. As the character is Pakistani and is being played by an Indian man, he naturally is darker than the rest. Thus, the excessive amount of skincare offered to Anupam Tripathi’s character seemed suspect for several viewers. View this post on Instagram Instagram Post View this post on Instagram Instagram PostThe post received many negative comments, resulting in Wishtrend making it private, with the comment section no longer accessible. Before taking down the post, though, Wishtrend posted a comment in defence of the maker of the Tik Tok, Sorn. According to Wishtrend, the reason Squid Game’s Ali gets lots of products is that they “love” the character, compared to just a single cotton pad for old man character Oh Il-nam, who turns out to be the dastardly mastermind of the deadly games in the show.𝖻𝗎𝗇𝖻𝗎𝗇 ₍ᐢ..ᐢ₎@minibun993xเพิ่มเติม ล่าสุดทางแบรนด์ให้เหตุผลมาว่าแบบนี้ค่ะ2:16 AM · Nov 4, 202112524491เพิ่มเติม ล่าสุดทางแบรนด์ให้เหตุผลมาว่าแบบนี้ค่ะ https://t.co/gsEuLwXevlDespite the defense, the video rubbed several viewers the wrong way. Sorn’s body language, too, according to some people, was one of disgust and pity. While the intention was one of love and admiration, the message seems to have been lost during the execution, and what was received was a racist TikTok video.•𝚖𝚘𝚗𝚍𝚊𝚢•𝚘𝚌𝚝𝚘𝚋𝚎𝚛•@_mondayoctober@Wishtrend How about pointing to herself for Gong Yoo, who is one of the bad characters? Doesn’t that mean Gong Yoo is handsome? Or it’s just a joke that I don’t get? & Sorry I don’t like her facial expression while giving “all the best” products to Ali. She doesn’t seem happy for him imo.9:03 AM · Nov 5, 20211@Wishtrend How about pointing to herself for Gong Yoo, who is one of the bad characters? Doesn’t that mean Gong Yoo is handsome? Or it’s just a joke that I don’t get? & Sorry I don’t like her facial expression while giving “all the best” products to Ali. She doesn’t seem happy for him imo. https://t.co/lOEBw1oHQT𝐲𝐚𝐧 ⁵@WOLFYJJONGjust saw sorn being colorist/racist towards ali from squid game on my tl… from a tiktok vid she did1:57 AM · Nov 5, 20211just saw sorn being colorist/racist towards ali from squid game on my tl… from a tiktok vid she did https://t.co/haMG1R3s35—@IDLEFAERIEit’s highly possible that the thai kpop idols have their own gc without sorn bc of the numerous dumbass things she’s done on tiktoki’m never gonna forget her squid game vid lol it’s highly offensive for me as a southeast asian who’s dealt with colorism on a daily basis 🔪2:15 AM · Nov 4, 2021121it’s highly possible that the thai kpop idols have their own gc without sorn bc of the numerous dumbass things she’s done on tiktoki’m never gonna forget her squid game vid lol it’s highly offensive for me as a southeast asian who’s dealt with colorism on a daily basis 🔪ashy 🎨 #DancingQueenSeungyeonDay 🐵💃💗@nyeongnighti'll talk about it more later but while i do think that tiktok was tone deaf & it's no surprise it got misinterpreted, people do need to know the truth about the products sorn wanted to 'give' to squid game's ali..it was more about giving him everything bc he's a beloved char3:14 AM · Nov 5, 202152i'll talk about it more later but while i do think that tiktok was tone deaf & it's no surprise it got misinterpreted, people do need to know the truth about the products sorn wanted to 'give' to squid game's ali..it was more about giving him everything bc he's a beloved charAdditionally, several viewers claimed that some of the skincare products Sorn offered Anupam Tripathi’s character were skin lightening products and contained bleach. Several others, though, quickly debunked this claim.m@globalmyeon[CLARIFICATION] CLC’s Sorn showed brightening/toner products but it was misinterpreted as Skin Bleaching products on her TikTok about Squid Game’s Ali.9:37 AM · Nov 5, 202141[CLARIFICATION] CLC’s Sorn showed brightening/toner products but it was misinterpreted as Skin Bleaching products on her TikTok about Squid Game’s Ali. https://t.co/SEhG0nF7N4sweetlikesorn ✧ ᗢ@sweetlikesornLiterally taking it out of context like?? Even the brand said there is no skin bleaching shit in it, pls stop setting sorn up and do some research before u post this shit twitter.com/vivntwt/status…3:42 AM · Nov 4, 202149293Literally taking it out of context like?? Even the brand said there is no skin bleaching shit in it, pls stop setting sorn up and do some research before u post this shit twitter.com/vivntwt/status…Shion-Chobe HQ@oluwatoji@doomplingzz @theminjiprint @vivntwt And even if none of them (that I saw) are skin-lightening, klairs pride themselves on rejuvenating youth so it’s likely she’s still implying that he’s ugly or old-looking for his age. I definitely do think it is motivated by colourism too and I wish I could see all products (2/2)1:13 AM · Nov 4, 202151732@doomplingzz @theminjiprint @vivntwt And even if none of them (that I saw) are skin-lightening, klairs pride themselves on rejuvenating youth so it’s likely she’s still implying that he’s ugly or old-looking for his age. I definitely do think it is motivated by colourism too and I wish I could see all products (2/2)However, Sorn’s video has also found several defenders who insist that it was taken out of context. Many have also accused others of blowing this particular Squid Game controversy out of proportion.kichan. |||@heyakichan@vivntwt Ok wait at first i thought she was being racist but now I think she didn’t intent for it to come across that way. I think she was intending to give Ali loads of products because he’s a lovable character whilst just giving the cotton pad to the old man because he’s the villain.4:09 AM · Nov 4, 202161030@vivntwt Ok wait at first i thought she was being racist but now I think she didn’t intent for it to come across that way. I think she was intending to give Ali loads of products because he’s a lovable character whilst just giving the cotton pad to the old man because he’s the villain.While the Internet can’t seem to agree, this incident is certainly a case study on how things can be lost in execution, regardless of the initial intentions.Team Wishtrend, the brand in charge of the TikTok video, issued an apology from their Twitter handle, sayingWishtrend@WishtrendHello, Team Wishtrend here.We take every feedback very seriously and like to issue an apology statement for our recent TikTok video with Sorn.Thank you.5:32 AM · Nov 5, 2021380449Hello, Team Wishtrend here.We take every feedback very seriously and like to issue an apology statement for our recent TikTok video with Sorn.Thank you. https://t.co/IJUUgR6UlcHowever, the Squid Games controversy serves as a timely reminder of South Korea and East Asia’s turbulent attitude towards color.