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Aespa member Giselle apologizes for mouthing racial slur

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By Dong Sun-hwa

Aespa's Giselle / Courtesy of SM Entertainment
Aespa's Giselle / Courtesy of SM Entertainment
Giselle of K-pop girl group aespa issued an apology Monday for mouthing a racial slur while singing an American pop song.

Her apology came two days after a video featuring her singing American singer SZA's "Love Galore" (2017) was uploaded on aespa's official YouTube channel. In the clip ― which was posted to disclose a behind-the-scenes look at the group while it was gearing up for its first EP, "Savage" ― the Japanese-Korean rapper was seen lip-syncing the n-word, a racial slur against Black people.

"I would like to apologize for mouthing this wrongful word from the lyrics of the song, which was playing on-site," Giselle wrote in English on aespa's Twitter account. "I had no intentions of doing it with any purpose and got carried away when one of my favorite artist's songs was played. I sincerely apologize. I will continue to learn and be more conscious of my actions."

When the video first went viral, many people apparently took offense with the K-pop star.

"Giselle is fluent in English and she knew well what she did," one Twitter user said, referring to the fact that she attended an international school in Japan.

Following the controversy, the original video has been removed from YouTube.

Giselle, 20, whose real name is Aeri Uchinaga, debuted as a member of aespa last November with the single, "Black Mamba." The four-piece act, consisting of Karina, Winter, Ningning and Giselle, is SM Entertainment's first girl group since Red Velvet which debuted in 2016. Aespa rose to instant stardom thanks to its novel concept involving digital avatars, with the music videos of its two singles, "Black Mamba" and "Next Level" surpassing 100 million views each on YouTube.


Dong Sun-hwa sunhwadong@koreatimes.co.kr


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