"Who's gonna be the next victim" — Internet alleges LE SSERAFIM's plagiarized Sabrina Carpenter, ITZY & Anok Yai’s MUGLER commercial

On February 24, 2025, the release of LE SSERAFIM's concept photos for their upcoming mini-album HOT recently spurred controversies around the K-pop girl group under HYBE's sub-label called Source Music. The album is set to be released on March 14, 2025.

However, netizens pointed out a few aspects that they felt were plagiarized from other artists and brands, including model Anok Yai's MUGLER's fragrance advertisement, the Espresso music video of Sabrina Carpenter, and concepts from their fellow K-pop group ITZY.

The controversy broke out when some observant netizens hinted that some scenes in the HOT concept video of LE SSERAFIM's Yunjin were quite reminiscent of Anok Yai's campaign video for Alien Hypersense by MUGLER. The similarities consist of two surreal sequences: the models going through the plushy and fur-lined tunnels, and the big oversized hamster wheels on which the models synchronize their motions.

All of the parallels gave rise to claims that LE SSERAFIM's creative team might have copied particular visualities from the MUGLER advertisement.

Netizens also highlighted the concept photos of Kim Chaewon with the word"HOT" engraved on her collarbones similar to Sabrina Carpenter's Espresso. Additionally, some netizens also cited the concept photo style similarities between LE SSERAFIM and K-pop group ITZY.

Comments flooded on social media accusing LE SSERAFIM of alleged plagiarism. One internet user wrote on X:

"whos gonna be the next victim," tweeted a fan on X.

Fans defended LE SSERAFIM from the allegations by claiming that Sabrina's photo with "ESPRESSO" written on her bare back—similar to Chaewon—was edited by some netizens to wage fan wars.

"As a Sabrina stan, the poster is not real and the sun tan was not invented by Sabrina and her team as well. lots of artists have used them (and she even got dragged for it last year btw). it's called inspiration and it's completely normal. don't use Sabrina to hate on others," wrote a fan.

"Sabrina pic is edited, second if you put the entire anok yai video next to le sserafim, they look nothing alike, that video is just a reference and the last picture??? They're just standing," said another fan.

"Not K-pop stan don't understand about referencing, moodboarding, modification of the concept hahaha (this is the basic of creative industry) as long it's not stole the whole things and being same. It's literally sad to see the fans hating to each other," commented a netizen.

However, some netizens expressed their displeasure with the K-pop girl group's alleged plagiarized concept video based on MUGLER's ad.

"All that noise just to end up copying others? Okay," wrote a fan.

"Even if the teaser was clipped and put together to compare, this is still a little bit.. eughhh..," added another fan.

"This was pretty obvious tho, I don’t even blame them it’s hybe’s fault," said a netizen.

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HYBE's girl group LE SSERAFIM's ascent to success with their hit albums like FEARLESS, EASY & CRAZY, and more

LE SSERAFIM, a South Korean girl group under Source Music, debuted in 2022 under HYBE's Source Music, consisting of Sakura, Kim Chaewon, Huh Yunjin, Kazuha, and Hong Eunchae.

Their first extended play, FEARLESS, was released on May 2, 2022. Its five tracks include the title track FEARLESS. The lyrics reflect the attitude of the group concerning their determination and ambition: The World Is My Oyster and Blue Flame perfectly embody their identity and group concept of women empowerment.

The album debuted at No. 2 on the Gaon Album Chart and was certified double platinum by the Korea Music Content Association (KMCA) for selling more than 500,000 copies.

Building up on their momentum, LE SSERAFIM continued to make waves in 2024 by releasing another two extended plays. The first to be released was EASY on February 19, 2024. The album peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard 200, while TWICE's EP With You-th took the top spot.

This moment represented the first time two all-female K-pop acts were simultaneously in the top ten of the Billboard 200. The title track EASY debuted at No. 91 on the Billboard Hot 100 and marked the group's first entry on the chart.

After EASY, the group released their fourth EP, CRAZY, on August 30, 2024. The EP made a bold departure towards Electronic Dance Music (EDM), and the title track Chasing Lightning opened its five tracks. Other remarkable tracks included Pierrot, 1-800-hot-n-fun, and Crazier.

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LE SSERAFIM also made their debut performance at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards, where they performed on CRAZY and 1-800-hot-n-fun.