LE SSERAFIM’s Hong Eun-chae publicly addressed the controversy surrounding her “fan-teasing” comments for the first time during a live broadcast.
In a media presentation held on August 29 at Yes24 Live Hall in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, to celebrate the release of their fourth mini album ‘CRAZY’Hong Eun-chae responded to questions from the press regarding the Coachella controversy.
Previously, Hong Eun-chae’s comments during a live broadcast on Weverse, in which she spoke with a student fan, were scrutinized. In March last year, while chatting with fans on the platform, she made a comment about school-related topics, saying, “You have to be in school for a long time, right? It must be tough,” and laughed.
In a live broadcast in September, he said he didn’t understand why people have to study in school and made comments like, “Friends who talk about college are cute. When they say, “What time are you going to school tomorrow?” I tell him I have to pick him up at 11:30, so I’m in luck.”
While these comments didn’t cause much of a stir at the time, they resurfaced in April when LE SSERAFIM’s Coachella performance sparked discussion about their abilities, bringing Hong Eun-chae’s old comments back into the spotlight.
Some netizens, after seeing clips of the live broadcast shared on social media, reacted angrily, accusing her of mocking students. Comments included, “Isn’t this like making fun of the students?”, “His expressions and tone seem very mocking, which makes me feel uncomfortable”, AND “There are probably a lot of student fans; is it okay to talk like this?”
Addressing the controversy at the showcase, Hong Eun-chae said: “At the time, I think I was too casual and didn’t realize the need to be more thoughtful in those interactions with fans. I wasn’t fully aware that I needed to be more thoughtful the closer we got.”
He continued, “I’m truly sorry for disappointing everyone with my immature remarks.” Hong Eun-chae promised, “I will try my best to show a more careful and responsible attitude in the future.”
In the meantime, the new album by LE SSERAFIM ‘CRAZY’Set for release on the 30th, carries the message “Let’s just go, let’s go crazy with LE SSERAFIM” and includes the title track “Crazy” along with songs like “Chasing Lightning,” “Pierrot,” “1-800-hot-n-fun,” and “Reasons Not to Go Crazy.”
Source: wikitree
