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Despite being one of the most popular K-pop girl groups with record-breaking tracks, some of TWICE's controversies have also thrown them sitting on the bad side of netizens. However, this applies to many other K-pop groups who have come under fire for their problematic and offensive attractions.
While TWICE hasn't been involved in any controversy in a few years, the recent t-shirt adorned by Chaeyoung that featured a swastika symbol brought a lot of attention to the group. Naturally, people were comparing past controversies to the present and were livening the previously problematic situations the members were held accountable for and how they handled the same.
From culture appropriation to false representations: 5 TWICE's controversies that shocked the internet
1) Tzuyu's Flag Controversy
During TWICE's appearance on My Little Television in November 2015, all nine members were seen holding the flags of their respective countries. However, the problem arose when Tzuyu was seen holding up the flag of Taiwan, which gained her a lot of negative attention.
Many called her out for expressing herself as a Taiwanese independent activist, even though that might not necessarily have been the case. Given that it was only about two months after TWICE's debut, it created a lot of unsettling opinions about the group. Still standing as one of TWICE's biggest controversies, JYP Entertainment also made Tzuyu film an apology video to reverse the contracts and activities that the group was losing due to the issue.
2) Mina's Rising Sun Flag Hat
Another misrepresentation that falls on the list of TWICE's controversies is Mina wearing a hat with the Rising Sun Flag printed on it. During a fan signing event in December 2016, Mina was seen wearing a hat with the Rising Sun Flag on it which was given to her by a Japanese fan. The flag is a Japanese flag that has negative associations with South Korea, and Mina being Japanese naturally worsened the situation.
However, the idol wore the hat for only about ten seconds before the group's manager spotted the hat and made her remove the same. She also later apologized to fans for her carelessness through her social media accounts.
3) Chaeyoung's Swastika Symbol T-shirt
The most recent of TWICE's controversies involved Chaeyoung, who was seen wearing a swastika symbol on her t-shirt. Through her recent Instagram post, which has since been deleted, fans figured that Chaeyoung was not only wearing the shirt once but quite a few times. The problem with the t-shirt was that it featured the image of Sid Vicious, a member of Sex Pistols, who's not only a punk icon but also an active supporter of swastika symbols.
Though this wasn't a direct reference to her association with or support towards the Nazis, fans were upset given the lack of awareness and ignorance from both the idol and her stylist. However, the idol soon realized her mistake and composed an apology letter to her fans, addressing her carelessness.
4) Nayeon's Illegal Streaming
Another of the older TWICE's controversies inlcuded Nayeon and her illegal streaming of copyrighted and licensed songs. On February 21, 2016, the idol posted a screenshot of herself listening to Girls Generation's Taeyeon solo track Secret. However, what fans found problematic was her use of the SoundCloud app to stream Taeyeon's song.
Given that SoundCloud is a free platform where people can share and listen to music, no profit will reach the artists since they aren't commercialized or capitalized under the app. However, Nayeon soon put the controversy to rest after a quick apology on her Instagram.
5) Jihyo's Native American Costume
The last on the list of TWICE's controversies is Jihyo's alleged cultural appropriation during the group's Halloween fan meeting, which they conducted for their third debut anniversary. Jihyo's costume for the party had her adorning the typical and culture-centered clothes of the Native American community and upon viewing the same, many fans were offended by the same.
While some fans debated that the idol was trying to imitate the anime character Princess Mononoke, others believed that it better fit the stereotypes of a Native American or First Native person.
While TWICE's controversies have created a little negative energy around the group, their immediate response with apologies and learning through the same has helped them recover relatively at the same time.
