Super Junior's Shindong quickly apologized for member Eunhyuk's appearance insult, while the producers of 'Negotiation King' faced backlash for airing Kim Won-hoon's 'motel village joke'.
On the 3rd, Shindong posted a video titled 'Words I Want to Convey from the Heart' on his personal YouTube channel 'Shindong Dengdeng'.
He stated, "I felt a bit panicked after reading a community post earlier. I looked at Twitter and suddenly I was trembling," adding, "I thought, 'Ah, why didn't I think about this while doing entertainment until now?' I felt that something was a bit off. So I thought, I need to film this quickly and talk to my fans."
Recently, in SBS's 'Shoe Off and Divorced Man', Shindong remarked, "I think Eunhyuk is really ugly," which led to sharp reactions from fans. They felt that even though they are close, it's inappropriate to make jokes at someone else's expense. He commented, "It's strange to call it a crisis, and I didn't expect fans to react this way. We've had such conversations among ourselves for a long time, and it seemed like they were received well. But I didn't know that fans felt this way, nor did I realize that we had been told to stop doing it before. This time, I truly felt that it could make them uncomfortable. I admit that I'm from an older generation, and I realize I need to change, which is also my fault," and he reflected on his actions.
Shindong repeatedly apologized for using appearance-related jokes, saying, "Recently, Hyoyeon from Girls' Generation went on YouTube and pointed out the mistakes of the members, and I thought the fans liked that. I realized, 'They like this.' But I didn't notice that this situation is different. I thought that Super Junior making fun of itself and joking around would be something that fans liked," noting that he recognized his outdated perspective.
He also said, "I talked with Eunhyuk. I mentioned that I had to go shoot a video and that I should apologize. He told me not to take it too seriously. He assured me that he understood that I didn't mean it that way, and I was grateful for that. I now realize that even if it's among members, it can be seen differently from an outsider's perspective," adding, "Thinking that 'the moment people who like me hate me, that's the end for me' made my hands tremble. I need to clearly recognize what not to do. I was wrong and I'm sorry. I want to take some time to reflect. If I can be forgiven once, I'll be careful. I will strive to be Shindong and Super Junior that you all support."
On the other hand, the web entertainment show 'Negotiation King' faced criticism for inappropriate sexual harassment remarks directed at ordinary citizens.
Released on the 27th of last month, 'Negotiation King' appointed Kim Won-hoon as the new MC, following Hwang Kwanghee, Jang Young-ran, and Hong Hyun-hee. Kim Won-hoon kicked off the first episode with an ice cream negotiation and headed out to the streets for citizen interviews.
During his first interview, as he spoke with a couple, he said, "Isn't this a motel village here?" and asked, "Did you all get home yesterday?" To this, the man responded, "We just came out," but Kim Won-hoon pressed further, looking at the man's lips while joking, "There are lipstick stains..."
In response, some internet users expressed unpleasant reactions, saying, "That's really rude," "It's outright sexual harassment, whether from the person making the joke or the editing team that left it in," "Isn't it enough to have made a sexual harassment comment, now they won't even edit it out?", "The video is very uncomfortable," and "I hope those who think this is okay experience being subjected to that joke while walking down the street."
Ultimately, as criticism and controversy intensified, on April 3, the YouTube channel Dallas Studio issued a heartfelt apology via comments on the first episode of 'Negotiation King' for the discomfort caused by some inappropriate expressions during citizen interviews. They stated, "We value your feedback and have edited the relevant scenes. We will approach production with more caution in the future," bowing their heads.
'Negotiation King' apologized for Kim Won-hoon's statements and deleted the relevant portions a week later, but it left an impression of being late to address the controversy. The new season has begun with a negative image.
In the past, many programs featured insults about appearances and sexual harassment remarks as jokes, but as times have changed, the societal atmosphere has changed 180 degrees. Overly crossing the line for mere entertainment will only lead to controversy.
[Photo] OSEN DB, 'Negotiation King' 'Shindong Dengdeng' screen capture
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