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On Thursday, December 7, ATEEZ's Wooyoung and San made a guest appearance on the Korean-Japanese Singer and former M.I.B member, Kangnam's YouTube show My Neighborhood Friend Kangnami. Most of the show went by smoothly as the three engaged in several conversations and spoke about ATEEZ's recent album release, THE WORLD EP.FIN: WILL.
However, a comment made by the host towards the two ATEEZ members sparked debates among netizens. When Wooyoung and San revealed that they share friendship tattoos, the host replied by stating that this was a little suspicious and called it "weird." Fans believe that he seemingly insinuated that their tattoo should symbolize their sharing a deeper connection beyond friendship, as he said:
"Weird. You two..."
While Wooyoung seemed to be taken aback by the comment, San chose to ignore it and did not reply. Fans sensed that the two were uncomfortable after Kangnam's remark and criticized him for his alleged homoph*bic reaction to them having friendship tattoos.
"He clearly made both of them uncomfortable" - Fans angered about Kangnam's alleged homoph*bic remark towards ATEEZ's Wooyoung and San
Following the release of ATEEZ's much-awaited comeback, THE WORLD EP.FIN: WILL, the members, Wooyoung and San kickstarted the album's promotions with their appearance on Kangnam's personality show, My Neighborhood Friend Kangnami. During the episode, the three individuals set up a tent outside the host's house and had several conversations over a few drinks and food.
When they were setting up the tent, Kangnam asked Wooyoung and San if they were the closest among the group, and they both affirmed it. Wooyoung added that they have a friendship tattoo on their thighs, right above the kneecap. He stated that the tattoo reads 'Amicus ad areas,' which means 'friends forever until death' in Latin.
However, when the idol spoke about the same, Kangnam responded with a shocked expression and said, "Weird. You two..." When they both stopped Kangnam from reading further into the situation by stating that they were just close friends, the host asked more questions about the tattoo.
When Kangnam heard that the friendship tattoo was the only one that San had, fans believed he continued to express suspicion about their bond. At this point, San ignored his comments and continued to set up the tent.
Soon after the video surfaced online, fans were angered by Kangnam's expression and the comments he made about Wooyoung and San's friendship tattoo. They took to social media to react to the same and pointed out that the host's comment made the idols uncomfortable.
Given that the two idols are known to share quite a special tattoo, fans felt that Kangnam's reaction was homoph*bic and disrespectful to the duo. Since San himself went quiet after Kangnam's comment, fans also expressed that the two members were probably uncomfortable.
Wooyoung explained during the episode that he has always loved tattoos and has a couple more apart from the friendship tattoo he shares with San. When he asked San if he wanted to get a friendship tattoo together, the idol immediately agreed. This is also the only tattoo that San has.
