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KISS OF LIFE started out as one of the rising rookie K-pop groups. However, following their cultural appropriation controversy that took place in early April, the group has been garnering less attention. During a live stream celebrating a member, Julie's birthday, the group was dressed in what they described as the "old-school hip-hop style."
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However, the livestream quickly drew criticism for the members' choice of clothing and actions. The group wore oversized chains, large caps, and styled their hair with cornrows and Bantu knots. Combined with their mannerisms and accents, led to allegations that the members were appropriating Black culture and reinforcing some harmful stereotypes.
While the group members issued an apology letter after realizing their actions, criticism toward KISS OF LIFE hasn't settled down yet. The group has since received less attention than they received prior to the controversy, and their subsequent comebacks have had a diminished impact in the industry.
Most recently, the group dropped a digital single, KISS ROAD, featuring the track, Live Laugh Love. While it was marketed as a surprise drop with minimal pre-release promotions, many fans and netizens continued to hold them accountable for their actions for the earlier controversy. This resulted in a lack of positive reception for the comeback
Therefore, discussions have emerged online suggesting the group's alleged downfall has been nearing. Here are a few fan reactions to the current status of KISS OF LIFE in the K-pop industry:
"Kiof really did ruin their career omg ..."
"Kiss of life might be the first kpop group that actually killed their career due to antiblackness bc why they had a single drop and no one knew. no outrage bait tweets about it either. just dead silence," added a fan.
"The kiof cancellation was actually successful cus i really don’t even hear about them anymore," commented a netizen
More fans and netizens have expressed their displeasure with KISS OF LIFE's comeback following their cultural appropriation controversy.
"Rebranding themselves w this live love laugh bs after being racists online is so funny," stated a fan
"not live love laugh after the biggest kpop idols being racist scandal in the last like 5 years," added an X user
"I literally cannot believe that they mess up their careers this bad for no reason," said a netizen
"The quickest rise and self inflicted plummet back down to nugudom I’ve ever witnessed……," commented another X user
KISS OF LIFE members write a handwritten apology letter to fans following their cultural appropriation livestream controversy
On April 3, following KISS OF LIFE's controversial livestream, their agency, S2 Entertainment, released a statement apologizing for the incident on behalf of the members on their official website. Soon, around April 6, the members released a handwritten letter, offering a detailed apology for the mistakes they made during the livestream.
Here's part of what they said in the letter:
" We are sorry, Our intention was to show how much we loved the category of old school hip hop because it greatly influences our music. While shooting the content we ended up taking the concept too far. We realize now that our content was culturally insensitive and take full responsibility for our actions and can only promise to do better."
They continued:
"We’ve spent the past few days learning and reflecting how our actions have disappointed many of you. We know that there is nothing we can say or do that will magically fix the mistake we made. The only thing that we can promise is that we’ll continue to educate ourselves and show our sincerity through our actions rather than words."
They concluded their letter by expressing that they regret the choices they made during the livestream and extended their apologies to the fans they disappointed. KISS OF LIFE also promised to treat the situation as a valuable learning experience for them so that they wouldn't repeat it in the future.
