K-Pop group Kiss of Life is being accused of being nothing but a bunch of racists after a birthday livestream featuring the group dressed in early 2000s Hip-Hop attire and dancing to 50 Cent’s “In da Club.”
The cringy video drew accusations of blackfishing and cultural appropriation.
The March 29 video, intended as a celebration for member Julie, instead ignited outrage for its use of 50 Cent’s#### song, cornrows, Bantu knots and gold chains—styling many online said leaned into harmful stereotypes of Black culture.
The South Korean girl group has reportedly lost more than 200,000 followers across social media platforms and their label, S2 Entertainment, was forced to respond.
The company initially described the video as a tribute to Hip-Hop’s influence on the group’s music but acknowledged that the content “could be perceived as offensive.”
On April 5, the four members—Julie (Julie Han), Natty (Anatchaya Suputhipong), Belle (Shim Hye-won) and Haneul (Won Ha-neul)—issued a handwritten apology, admitting they had crossed a line.
“We really want to sincerely apologize for the content that was uploaded that caused so much disappointment to our fans,” the letter read. “We have to seem calm on the outside but the time leading up to this letter has honestly been hard.”
The group, which debuted in July 2023, said they now understand the video was culturally insensitive and pledged to take full responsibility.
“While shooting the content we ended up taking the concept too far,” they wrote. “We realize now that our content was culturally insensitive and take full responsibility for our actions and can only promise to do better.”
The apology acknowledged the delay in addressing the issue and emphasized that the members had spent the days following the livestream reflecting on the impact of their actions.
“We know that there is nothing we can say or do that will magically fix the mistake we made,” the group wrote. “The only thing that we can promise is that we’ll continue to educate ourselves and show our sincerity through our actions rather than words.”
The controversy has placed Kiss of Life among a growing list of K-pop acts accused of appropriating Black culture, including BLACKPINK’s Lisa, Mamamoo, BTS’s RM and G-Dragon, who once dressed as Trayvon Martin in blackface.
Despite the backlash, the group said they remain committed to spreading positivity through music.
“We truly regret the choices we made and are genuinely sorry for any pain and distress we have caused our fans,” the letter concluded. “This situation has been a valuable learning experience for us.”
50 Cent has yet to comment.
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