Lady Gaga, left, and Bruno Mars accept the best pop duo/group performance award for "Die With A Smile" during the 67th annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, Sunday. AP-Yonhap
Korean cable television channel Mnet is facing criticism for omitting a direct interpretation of pop star Lady Gaga's remarks in support of the transgender community during its live broadcast of the 2025 Grammy Awards.
After winning the award for best pop duo/group performance alongside Bruno Mars, Gaga used her acceptance speech to express support for the transgender community, stating, "Trans people are not invisible. Trans people deserve love. The queer community deserves to be lifted up."
However, during Mnet's exclusive live broadcast, her remarks were not fully interpreted into Korean. Instead, the commentator summarized her entire statement as "She calls for diversity."
Since the broadcast lacked an expert simultaneous interpreter offering a line-by-line interpretation and instead featured a commentator summarizing key remarks in Korean, some viewers criticized the omission. They argued that this incident reflects a broader pattern in Korean media of downplaying or obscuring the visibility of LGBTQ+ issues.
"There is a clear conservative tendency in Korean media to avoid sensitive topics, including issues related to the transgender community," Kim Do-heon, a pop culture critic, said.
Concerns about the omission of LGBTQ+ content have repeatedly emerged in Korean media, affecting television dramas, stage performances and film broadcasts.
In 2021, the Seoul Metropolitan Government faced backlash for censoring LGBTQ+ references during its annual New Year's bell-ringing ceremony. During the event, the Korean dance group Lachica performed Lady Gaga's "Born This Way," a song widely celebrated for its message of LGBTQ+ solidarity. However, lyrics like "No matter gay, straight, or bi, lesbian, transgender life" were omitted from the broadcast.
The same year, a Korean television network edited out a same-sex kiss scene while airing the 2018 film "Bohemian Rhapsody." The channel defended the decision, citing compliance with the film's 15+ rating. However, critics argued that the edit effectively erased Freddie Mercury's identity as a member of the LGBTQ+ community.
Kim acknowledged the broader tendency in Korean media to avoid LGBTQ+ topics, but noted that the omission was not necessarily the fault of the commentator interpreting the broadcast this time.
"The live broadcast was not conducted with a simultaneous interpreter translating every line in real time. Instead, it followed a format where the commentator listened to the broadcast and provided summarized interpretations and commentary, making precise translations difficult," he said.
"However, it is regrettable that the channel was not better prepared to provide context for Gaga's remarks. This reflects a broader reluctance in Korean media to openly discuss these topics."
Yi Ho-rim, an activist with Solidarity for LGBT Human Rights of Korea, also criticized the omission, emphasizing the significance of Gaga's speech.
"Gaga's remarks carry substantial political and social weight, particularly given the current situation in the U.S., where efforts have intensified to erase transgender identity from public spaces," she said.
In his first week in office, U.S. President Donald Trump signed executive orders rolling back several diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility initiatives while reinstating restrictions on transgender troops serving in the military.
"I believe that interpreting foreign award ceremonies goes beyond just translating the language or conveying cultural nuances," Yi said. "A fundamental understanding of social and political contexts is necessary to interpret and explain such remarks properly."