K-Pop Star Apologizes for Wearing Shirts With QAnon and Nazi Symbols
Chaeyoung, a member of the South Korean girl group TWICE, says she “didn’t recognize the meaning of the tilted swastika” on her shirt.
Alamy
A K-pop star who recently came under fire for wearing T-shirts with QAnon and Nazi imagery on them has taken to Instagram to apologize for her poor style choices.
Chaeyoung, a member of the popular South Korean girl group TWICE, had posted a photo on Instagram in which she wore a shirt featuring Sid Vicious of the Sex Pistols and a Nazi swastika. Once fans pointed out the problematic imagery, Chaeyoung deleted the photo and posted an apology in its place.
“Hello, this is Chaeyoung from TWICE. I sincerely apologize regarding the Instagram post. I didn’t correctly recognize the meaning of the tilted swastika in the t-shirt I wore,” she wrote in English.
“I deeply apologize for not thoroughly reviewing it, causing concern. I will pay absolute attention in the future to prevent any situation similar from happening again. Sincerely apologize again.”
The 23-year-old’s apology comes just days after she was similarly chastised for wearing a shirt with QAnon imagery on it. During TWICE’s performance on MBC’s Show! Music Core over the weekend, Chaeyoung wore a cropped shirt with a Q-shaped cutout of the American flag and an excerpt of the slogan “Where we go one, we go all.”
Anti-semetism in kpop is way too overlooked. Chaeyoung wearing a q-anon AND a nazi shirt two days in a row, BOTH BEING ANTI SEMETIC, STOP hiding this and mind you these her OWN clothes pic.twitter.com/YMYcUFgTiT
— nar (@nrknation) March 21, 2023
Twitter users were quick to point out that the design references the far-right political movement QAnon, known for defending former President Donald Trump and for spreading baseless conspiracy theories.
Many TWICE fans placed the blame on the girl group’s stylists for not doing their due diligence, but here’s hoping Chaeyoung learns from these style gaffes by picking her clothes more carefully from now on.
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