Black MYs Have Mixed Response To Aespa’s Giselle’s Apology For Mouthing N-Word

Aespa (stylized as aespa) has just released its critically acclaimed album Savage. It set a number of records and made music history.

MYs (the fandom) were also anticipating a slew of new content, ranging from music show performances to behind-the-scenes footage. Unfortunately, one of the members was chastised as a result of it. The group’s label, SM Entertainment, published a behind-the-scenes video for the jacket shot for Savage on October 23.

Fans observed Giselle mouthing the N-word when the girls were singing. Giselle, Karina, and Ningning were caught dancing to SZA’s Love Galore while filming the album jacket. Some viewers observed Giselle mouthing the racial slur N-word while lip-syncing to the song. It enraged MYs even more because she has studied and is fluent in English.

Furthermore, she has replaced the N-word in the past when singing Doja Cat’s Tia Tamera, indicating that she is aware of the word’s tragic history and why it should not be used. Fans chose to share the video on Twitter and send mass emails to SM and aespa, pleading with Giselle to apologise.

Well, on October 25, Giselle personally came on Twitter and posted an apology letter. She said, “Hello, this is GISELLE. I would like to apologize for mouthing the wrongful word from the lyrics of the song that was playing on-site. (And) I had no intentions of doing it with any purpose and got carried away when one of my favorite artist’s song was played. (And) I sincerely apologize. I will continue to learn and be more conscious of my actions.”

Her apology has elicited conflicting reactions, with some Black fans accepting it and others rejecting it. Some are enraged that the apology is being accepted on their behalf by non-Black admirers. One fan tweeted, “Yes I’m black and yes I accepted her… she apologised sincerely and you guys have no right to say we ain’t black. you are just so mad that she’s the only kpop artist to apologise and u wanna keep dragging her stfu this means a lot to the black community if you get it.”

Another fan posted, “It felt like we were waiting for nothing knowing how sm has this history of not letting their idols speak up but giselle did not on bbl but in their official acc i’m sure she sincerely wanted to deliver the apology properly and i’m glad they allowed her.”