K-pop girl group Kiss of Life have issued a public apology in response to a birthday live broadcast that many fans deemed culturally insensitive.
On April 2, the four members of Kiss of Life — Julie, Natty, Belle, and Haneul — held a live stream on YouTube celebrating Julie’s 25th birthday. During the stream, the members revealed the theme for the event was “old-school hip-hop vibes,” and showed a picture of three Black men as the “inspo” reference.
The members appeared on screen donning stereotypical hip-hop attire, including diamond and gold chains, hoop earrings, snapbacks, and even cornrows. Member Belle, who donned makeup seemingly inspired by Latina women, presented herself as Lil Taco Belle. Natty was introduced as NT, and Haneul was introduced as Bob Sky.
During the live, the members used a blaccent and AAVE repeatedly; the video has since been removed from the group’s social channels, but there are re-uploaded clips from the stream online. After the live, the members uploaded a TikTok lipsyncing to 50 Cent’s “In da Club” wearing the same outfits. This video has also since been deleted.
Shortly after the live, many fans took to social media to voice their concerns over the live, dubbing it as “mockery” and “disrespect.”
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As the conversation amplified online, the group addressed the controversy on April 7 with a handwritten apology posted to their social channels.
“We really want to sincerely apologize for the content that was uploaded that caused so much disappointment to our fans. We have to seem calm on the outside, but the time leading up to this letter has honestly been hard. Although we wanted to and should’ve addressed this sooner. We are taking the first opportunity to address it now,” the statement reads.
