On Monday, March 20, TWICE's Chaeyoung posted a thread of images on Instagram featuring her time in the United States during the group's World Tour.
While much of the thread was enjoyed by fans, one image made them all pause. Upon realizing that the t-shirt Chaeyoung was wearing in one of her pictures features a swastika, which refers to an association with the Nazis and the current white supremacist movement, fans grew concerned.
Her t-shirt featured a popular image of punk icon Sid Vicious from S*x Pistols. He is known for his provocative fashion, including clothes with swastika symbols. Though TWICE Chaeyoung wasn't wearing anything directly related to promoting Nazism, many still felt that the indirect association was problematic enough.
Fans react to the controversial T-shirt adorned by TWICE's Chaeyoung and her followed-up apology
Soon after TWICE's Chaeyoung uploaded a thread of photos to her Instagram, fans immediately called her out for the controversial t-shirt she wore in some images. Many netizens were angered by the ignorance and non-awareness of the idol and her stylist.
Chaeyoung soon realized her mistake and deleted the post after the criticism. She also followed up with an official apology addressing the issue at hand. Here's what she shared:
"Hello, this is Chaeyoung from TWICE. I sincerely apologize regarding the Instagram post, I didn't correctly recognize the meaning of the titled swastika in the t-shirt I wore. I deeply apologize for not thoroughly reviewing it, causing concern. I will pay absolute attention in the futre to prevent situation similar from happening again. I sincerely apologize again."
Many netizens realized that Chaeyoung meant no harm or hatred by wearing the t-shirt and that this was an innocent wardrobe mistake. However, many turned their anger towards her stylists.
Though the post has now been deleted and the idol has apologized for the same, fans were still angered by the incident, which could have not only created the wrong image of TWICE's Chaeyoung but also upset a huge population of ONCEs (TWICE's fandom).
Fans aren't completely settled with the issue, but they try to understand TWICE's Chaeyoung and her circumstances. While it has affected a huge population of fans and netizens, her immediate apology and actions to prevent further damage were appreciated by many.
In other news, TWICE released its latest album, Ready To Be, on March 10, 2023. The album consisted of about seven songs, with SET ME FREE as its title track.
Unlike their prior albums, the group has dwelled deeper into the title track by creating an English version of the song and composing several remixes. Their second-ever English song, Moonlight Sunrise, also sits on the album.
While fans continue to express their distress with the situation surrounding TWICE's Chaeyoung, they also hope the same doesn't get repeated.