K-pop enthusiasts eagerly anticipated a historic moment as the renowned group, Stray Kids, made their debut on the prestigious Met Gala red carpet on Monday. However, what was meant to be a joyous occasion took a disappointing turn for many fans as they tuned into the event’s red carpet live stream.
Stray Kids made a ground-breaking appearance, marking the first time an entire K-Pop group graced the prestigious event’s carpet. Adorned in custom Tommy Hilfiger attire, amidst the excitement, fans observed some paparazzi displaying rudeness towards the members, making offensive remarks. Not only did they critique their expressions, but they also made presumptions that they didn’t understand English.
During the event, one photographer was overheard commenting on the idols’ seemingly “emotionless” faces, while another remarked that they resembled “robots.” When the group did their full outfit reveal, the first one also exclaimed, “Now, let’s do it with feeling” and remarked, “They’re going to start performing.” Another one also asked them to jump. Meanwhile, one more commented, “How do you say right in Korean?” as they assumed that the members don’t speak English.
Fans swiftly condemned such behaviour, labelling it as racist, disrespectful, outright rude, and flooded social media platform to express their disappointment.
A netizen tweeted, “The amount of disrespect I’m hearing in this one video is insane. Like it doesn’t matter WHO is on that carpet, it’s really disrespectful. you are there to do your JOB. You get paid to take photos and here you are being incredibly disrespectful to the people who are helping you get that money?” Another commented, “I am so upset. The fashion industry is still so racist. It’s gotten slightly more accepting because of how big Kpop has gotten, but you can tell that people still don’t respect asian artists. Stray Kids deserved better. This was absolutely appalling behavior from the paparazzi.”
A fan wrote, “BRO I WAS HEATED.” One more chimed in, “The casual racism is crazy but at the end of the day it’s skz walking into the event and not them.” A third one said, “I can't be the only one that thinks that the photographers from the met gala where so rude to skz, like someone needs to humble them.” Other fans in the replies called the photographers’ behaviour “disgusting” and “f**ked up.”
Despite the regrettable incident, Bang Chan, Han, Felix, Hyunjin, Changbin, Lee Know, I.N and Seungmin’s presence at the Met Gala stands as a pivotal moment for the K-Pop industry. Fans are also expressing hope that forthcoming events will be met with respect and professionalism.
