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Black MYs have mixed reactions to aespa’s Giselle's apology for mouthing N-word

Giselle's apology has turned into a fan war as one MY said 'If you’re a non-black fan, please bear in mind that this is not your apology to accept'

Aespa (stylized as aespa) just came back with their instantly successful album ‘Savage’. It broke several records and made history on music charts. MYs (the fandom) were also excited for the barrage of content being released from music show performances to behind-the-scenes clips. Unfortunately, one of the members came under fire for it. On October 23, the group’s label, SM Entertainment released a behind-the-scenes video for ‘Savage’s’ jacket shooting. Fans noticed that while the girls were singing, Giselle mouthed the N-word.

While shooting for the album jacket, Giselle, Karina and Ningning were filmed dancing to SZA’s ‘Love Galore’. Some fans noticed that while lip-syncing to the song, Giselle mouthed the N-word which is a racial slur. It upset MYs even more since she has studied and knows English. Furthermore, in the past when singing another song -- Doja Cat’s 'Tia Tamera', she replaced the N-word which means she knows the painful history behind the word and why it shouldn’t be used. Fans decided to circulate the clip on Twitter and mass email SM and aespa for Giselle to apologize for it.

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Giselle apologizes for mouthing the N-word

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. I had no intentions of doing it with any purpose and got carried away when one of my favorite artist's song was played. I sincerely apologize. I will continue to learn and be more conscious of my actions.”

'Black fans matter'

There have been mixed reactions to her apology as some Black fans are accepting it, while others are not. Some are angry that non-Black fans are accepting the apology on their behalf. 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.” One said, “So happy that sm has finally done the right thing and allowed giselle to apologise on a public space for all to see. 🖤 a first from sm and hopefully this type of behaviour continues, black fans matter so much!!!”

One fan shared, “Why mys turned giselle saying n word into "you never stanned aespa, if you're gonna be ot3 now" gigi did that to herself by hurting black mys and we can't force anyone to stan her after that.” Another found Giselle's explanation ridiculous, “Giselle said when a hit like THAT come on she can’t help but say the n word.” One MY explained, “Giselle has since apologised for her actions on aespa’s twitter account. if you’re a non-black fan, please bear in mind that this is not your apology to accept — you are not the ones who have been hurt by her actions.”