Singer and actor Rain (real name Jung Jihoon) apologized for encouraging an audience reaction from a hearing-impaired fan at a concert in Taiwan.
On the 23rd (local time), foreign media reported the incident in which Rain apologized for encouraging a hearing-impaired fan at a recent local performance in Taiwan.
According to foreign media, Rain met local fans during his "Still Raining: Encore" tour held at Taipei Arena in Taiwan on the 17th. During the performance, Rain encouraged the audience to sing and dance, energizing the atmosphere.
Meanwhile, Rain singled out a female fan in the audience who was not dancing and was only filming with her phone. He asked, "Why aren't you jumping?" and an interpreter at the venue relayed this. The fan reportedly smiled and pointed to her ears. It was a signal that she could not hear. However, it was not conveyed to Rain.
The fan then wrote on social media, "It's not that I didn't jump; I couldn't understand what Rain and the interpreter were saying. I have a hearing impairment, so I need to read lips or have real-time captions," adding, "I hope Rain doesn't mistake me for a fan who didn't listen. Looking back, I should have told him using sign language."
After learning of the post, Rain personally left a comment on the fan's post. He apologized, saying, "First of all, I am truly sorry. I did not realize you could not hear. I did not show enough consideration." He then celebrated the fan, who had a birthday after the performance, and added, "There was a small incident, but it became a beautiful memory for us. This experience makes me think I need to be more careful in every aspect when performing in the future. Thank you for coming to the show."
The report sparked debate among fans who learned of it through foreign media. Criticism that the disabled fan was not given sufficient consideration and defenses that it was a communication error that can easily occur at a concert and that he apologized promptly are clashing.
[Photo] OSEN DB, SNS source.
[OSEN]