EXO's Chen is currently under fire for comments he made on a recent 'V-Live'.

 

Yesterday, EXO-CBX streamed live via Naver's 'V-Live' for their recent comeback. However, while playing games and fooling around, Chen made some comments that caught the attention of viewers, especially international fans.

 

In the video clip below, at approximately at 24:50 mark, he is seen saying, "I look like Michol," as dark lipstick was being applied to his lips, making it appear to be bigger than it actually is. Michol is a fictional cartoon character from 'Dooly the Little Dinosaur', and although the character is South Korean, he is often criticized as blackface caricature.

 

 

Another thing people have noticed was that at the 24:48 mark, Chen makes a comment that reads, "My lips look too plump" under the English subtitle. However, what the viewers who understand Korean heard was, "Isn't this Kunta Kinte?" and once the Korean subtitle was applied, the same statement of "Isn't this Kunta Kinte? (이거 쿤타킨테 아니에요?)" could be read.

 

 

Kunta Kinte is a character from the novel 'Roots: The Saga of an American Family' and according to the author, is based on one of his ancestors who was enslaved and taken to America, a mixture of both fiction and non-fiction.

 

Since making this controversial statement on air, Chen has been receiving mixed reactions; while some are criticizing the statements made by the idol, some are defending the situation. Below are some of the comments that can be found online.

 

i didn’t know comparing your OWN ing lips to a CARTOON CHARACTER makes you racist. can you lil s please stop being ridiculous. & pls for the love of god if exo isn’t your fave then keep them out of your ing mouths.@weareoneEXO #MTVBRKPOPEXO #PremiosMTVMiaw

— ot9 or gtfo (@exolhoe) April 15, 2018

 

It honestly isn’t a Jongdae problem, it’s a South Korean/ Asian problem. If Jongdae referred himself to Kunta, then I think we should educate them more regarding this issue and ask him to apologize. HOWEVER, EXO is STILL OT9 so sit down. @weareoneEXO #MTVBRKPOPEXO #PremiosMTVMiaw

— Asia’s First Love { 카이 } (@exoelle88) April 15, 2018

 

Hello @weareoneEXO, I’d like to ask of you to please let Jongdae know, he did nothing wrong and eries are right beside him, ready to fend off those who try to bring him down, because he deserves the world just like the rest of EXO #MTVBRKPOPEXO #PremiosMTVMiaw @weareoneEXO

— Baekhyun’s Eri (@EriBaekhyun) April 15, 2018

 

im not dropping exo or jongdae, if they ever make a mistake I want them to take responsibility for their mistakes and learn from it bc I love them and I care about them so much and all I want is for them to become a better version of themselves and exo-ls can help and learn too.

— 나의 작은 우주 (@yxinghun) April 15, 2018

 

What are your thoughts on this issue?