"There are rumors circulating online that actor Jung Haein was racially discriminated against by overseas stars, and some photos and videos appear to have amplified misunderstandings. "
Recently, an online community post titled "The person next to the Jung Haein racial discrimination post is Benson — sharing a few facts" caught attention.
The author said, "The person now to Jung Haein's right is Mr. Benson, a hot American singer who can be rude in conversation, but labeling him a racist seems extreme," and added, "If you look at the video above, Mr. Benson led and conducted the interview together with Jung Haein. And Benson had been active in Korea before he blew up and always showed his love for Korea. I'm sharing this because it seems he's being vilified for racism."
Mr. Benson is an American singer-songwriter who recently attended Milan Fashion Week with Jung Haein and sat side by side. The two were invited to a certain high-end designer brand show and sat in the front row to watch the show; Jung Haein sat in the middle with pop star Mr. Benson and Turkish actor Kerem Bürsin on either side. During this, the men on either side, Mr. Benson and Kerem Bürsin, assumed what is known as a "manspreading" posture, and scenes were captured of them talking only to each other while ignoring Jung Haein, which made some internet users uncomfortable.
Many fans who recognized Jung Haein criticized the two for rudeness, saying, "This is clearly racial discrimination," "Asians keep responding modestly, so they keep doing that," and "Putting someone in the middle and being rude regardless of race," and the controversy over racial discrimination escalated.
However, it was later revealed that Jung Haein and Mr. Benson had a brief interview of about a minute at the fashion show. Mr. Benson complimented Jung Haein, saying, "The white suit is cool. How does it feel to attend the fashion show?" Jung Haein smiled and said, "I'm having a great time. My outfit concept is elegant and hot." The video showed a warm atmosphere with no sense of racial discrimination. Mr. Benson and Jung Haein asked each other how they were doing and continued a pleasant conversation about their outfit concepts.
In addition, Mr. Benson visited Korea in 2022 and busked on the Han River, and that video has surpassed 24 million views. The following year he returned to the Han River and held a busking fan meeting in front of fans. During a performance he also showed a cute stunt writing "I ♥ 한국" on a boat.
[Photo] YouTube, SNS capture
[OSEN]