Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
Singer Crush has come under fire after video and testimony emerged of him seemingly refusing to shake the hands of two Black fans while performing at a recent event.
Certainly at first glance it appears to be a terrible look from him, and it’s understandable they felt hurt and I get why the backlash is severe. Though it’s perhaps especially surprising since back in 2020 he was one of the most clearly outspoken against anti-Black racism.
Still, nothing would surprise me regarding racism in Korean entertainment at this juncture, and the only thing I wondered about was whether the others are wearing those gloves that Korea is still mandating at events for COVID reasons, which could make some sense. Otherwise this looks like a truly baffling decision for him, because even if he harbors those prejudices doing something this blatant in public is nuts.
Either way, there’s enough backlash at this point where I wonder if he might make a statement, either to explain what happened or to make an apology, and I’d be interested in hearing it since the video certainly isn’t great.
——
Update 1
Crush has responded on Instagram, saying he did this action as a safety precaution, but not related to any COVID protocol.
Update 2
New video has been posted from the perspective of the fans that seems to show there was no pushing or anything like that. And definitely no gloves or health protocols were seemingly involved.
Update 3
Video taken from other angles have now emerged.
Korean fans are pointing out that he made the same gesture at least a few times.
