1. Monsta X The seven members of Monsta X must have been
overjoyed to be the first ever Kpop group to perform at the 2018 Jingle Ball concert
in the US following their international success. However, their excitement was short-lived
as an interviewer from the entertainment show ‘Access’ suddenly threw cold water on
their hard work with an inappropriate question.
Although Monsta X politely congratulated the senior group and expressed their pride as
fellow Koreans, it was clear from the members’ reactions that they were surprised and extremely
uncomfortable having to address something completely unrelated to them on a big day
in their career. The video that Access uploaded to Youtube
even has a very clickbaity title that focuses more on Monsta X’s reaction to BTS rather
than their own achievements.
While Monsta X themselves couldn’t express their disapproval, netizens were brewing up
a storm. Supporters of both idol groups were furious at Access’ unprofessionalism, and
the entertainment show was heavily criticized across multiple social media platforms.
To this day, Access hasn’t given Monsta X a public apology despite the fans’ insistence.
2. Brave Girls
To appear in the much-loved music program ‘Yoo Hee Yeol's Sketchbook’ is a dream
for many idols, but it wasn’t as much of a pleasant experience for Brave Girls as it
should’ve been. The group could be seen answering preselected
fan questions in a behind-the-scenes video, and for some reason the producers had decided
that ‘When are you going to get married?’ and ‘Do you think you are middle-aged women
now that you are almost 30?’ were good for the girls to answer.
The first question was given to Yujeong, to which she replied that she needed a partner
first then they would get married when the time comes.
The second question, to which most criticisms were directed, seemed to catch Yuna by surprise
when she first heard it. The girl laughed it off and gave a positive response, however
the production team was heavily criticized by netizens for letting such rude questions
get through. The broadcasting company has since removed
the offensive segments and included an apology at the start of the video but strangely, only
viewers and fans were apologized to while no statement was given in regards to the discomfort
Brave Girls had to experience.
3. (G)-IDLE’s Soyeon
In November 2019, Soyeon appeared on the talk show Radio Star to promote her group to the
public. Even though Soyeon introduced at the beginning
that (G)-IDLE won 7 rookie of the year awards and achieved their first music show win just
20 days after their debut, one of the hosts, Kim Gura suddenly asked if the panel would
be able to recognize a (G)-IDLE song if they heard it.
To add fire to the fuel, Gura even asked if (G)-IDLE was ‘on the same level’ as ITZY
since people his age only knew that ITZY was a trending new generation idol group among
numerous new faces in the industry that they could use as a benchmark of popularity.
Soyeon was visibly taken aback, but she soon regained her composure to politely reply that
her group was still working towards winning first place on a public broadcast music show,
which was an achievement that ITZY was able to do already.
Both fans of (G)-IDLE and ITZY heavily criticized Kim Gura for trying to compare the two groups
when both were doing well in their own careers. Obviously, someone didn’t do his research
carefully.
4. Seventeen’s Vernon
In 2018, Vernon appeared in the South Korean talk show ‘Happy Together’ as one of the
episode’s special guests. The idol expressed to the cast and viewers
his discomfort whenever people would treat him as a foreigner due to his looks despite
him having been influenced by and identifying more closely with the Korean culture.
Despite having heard of Vernon’s struggles; one of the show’s hosts, Hyunmoo, later
told Vernon that he didn’t seem to have difficulty speaking Korean anymore and asked
him to spell some basic Korean words. Vernon looked as if he was at a loss for words
at first then proceeded to spell every word Hyunmoo asked with perfect dictation and smiled
as he politely reminded the host once again that he was, in fact, Korean.
Viewers of Happy Together and Seventeen fans alike were infuriated as the question had
a racist undertone and completely went against what Vernon was talking about regarding racial
discrimination. As the host of a reputable talk show, Hyunmoo
really could’ve done better to not offend his guest.
5. Oh My Girl’s YooA
Earlier this February, YooA was having a livestream as per usual to interact with her fans. After
sharing stories of her fellow members and beauty tips for some time, her initial bubbliness
was gradually replaced with confusion and discomfort as she said to the fans that a
few strange comments kept coming up in the chat.
The situation must’ve gotten out of hand as the idol resorted to calling someone out
by their username and bluntly asked why they wanted to know whether she was wearing *nderwear
or not. YooA’s direct address at those who were
s*xually har*ssing her was highly praised by her fans and netizens alike as they believe
that idols aren’t obliged to stay silent and let problematic people say whatever they
want online.
6. BTS
BTS’s relationship with ‘The Ellen Show’ was off to a rocky start due to Ellen’s
overly enthusiastic attempt at cracking a joke.
When the talk was going smoothly, Ellen suddenly asked if the boys had ever ‘hooked up’
with a fan before. RM laughed half-heartedly then brushed the
question off by saying that BTS are together with their fans right now as other members
tried to make the atmosphere less awkward by cheering their fans.
Despite BTS’s obvious attempt to dodge the question, Ellen pressed on to flat out ask
if they’ve ever dated a fan before and even told the translator to explain what ‘hook
up’ means to the members, to which Jungkook simply shook his head and V bluntly said ‘no’
repeatedly.
Cultural differences when it comes to celebrity dating is one thing, but Ellen’s persistence
in asking a very personal question was really a sore sight to ARMYs.
7. EXO’s Sehun
At the end of February, Sehun held a surprise livestream on Instagram at night time to interact
with his fans as he had difficulty falling asleep.
Among the many comments that flashed through the chat, one caught Sehun’s attention in
particular as he read the question ‘are you gay?’ out loud.
The initial confusion in his voice was soon followed
by a lighthearted answer and a soft chuckle. Sehun asked why the fan thought that he was
gay before giving them a simple ‘no, I’m not’ and moving on to chat about all sorts
of other things. Netizens praised the fact that Sehun chose
to answer an inappropriate question in a calm manner despite being confused and once again
reminded each other to be mindful of what to say in front of a public figure.
8. StrayKids’ Bang Chan
During one of Chan’s usual weekly live sessions, a female fan asked him for some advice on
what to do when she was menstruating. Despite such a try-to-get-attention question
(because honestly, who would ask a guy about menstrual?), the fact that Chan gave a super
boyfriend material response was a pleasant surprise.
He gave the fan tips on how to relieve period pain like keeping her stomach warm and eating
sweets, and fans have speculated that he knew of these remedies since he has a little sister
at home in Australia. Many Korean netizens have expressed that the
calm manner in which Chan answered such a questionable question made their hearts race
and earned him their admiration.
Did any of these questions stand out to you as just plainly rude? Share your thoughts
with us by leaving a comment down below.