Black Music Artist Devin Morrison Defends Crush Against Racism Allegations

Black music artist and friend of Crush, Devin Morrison, defended the Korean solo artist against racism allegations made after he appeared to reject Black fans at a recent concert.

This week, Crush has been “canceled” by the international K-Pop community after videos surfaced online that depicted the singer apparently rejecting touching their hands while high-fiving others because they were dark-skinned. In the brief clip, Crush can be seen touching many fans’ hands in the front row before briefly pausing, backing away, and moving on.

sooo i have decided 2 post it..here it is! the ppl crush says ‘no’ 2 is my roommate n i, u can c my hand go down (i have dark skin so it stands out) right after. i dont think crush should ‘get away’ w this. i want other ppl 2 know what he did!

— ewuresi (@tulipyeo on Twitter)

for anyone who still can't see the racist crush vid….in broad daylight 2022??? pic.twitter.com/RkFroBpb1v

— nini (@sexcguyjm) October 10, 2022

Friends (@tulipyeo and @brinaxv on Twitter) recounted their experience, both claiming that Crush intentionally discriminated against them. However, both have since deactivated their accounts.

yeah… i’m the roommate. for this to happen to us first hand really broke my heart. i’ve never experienced blatant discrimination like this in my entire life. especially since he was my favorite artist, it hurts so bad

— sabrina (@brinaxv on Twitter)

Before the two made their posts on social media inaccessible, they had gone viral. Netizens heavily criticized Crush as it seemed evident he had intentionally avoided the friend group. So, he issued an apology as he denied the alleged racism and claimed that he was worried for fans’ safety. Many weren’t buying his explanation, though.

The OP (original poster) even responded to Crush’s apology, disagreeing with his claims.

as u can c, the video was comfortably taken. nobody was uncomfortable 😭 every1 AROUND me, in my vicinity, was fine. not 2 mention it wasnt like crush skipped my entire section..he STILL touched the hands of ppl NEXT 2 me. 🤷🏿‍♀️

— ewuresi (@tulipyeo on Twitter)

People who know Crush personally were taken aback by the accusations of racism, though. Those who even liked his apology on social media, including BTS‘s J-Hope, who recently collaborated with him for “Rush Hour,” have also been met with equal amounts of criticism.

Jhope liked his post????? Wtf. https://t.co/sFoXDEQ2We pic.twitter.com/HmzBdlobdW

— Jwana (@tv_jwasa) October 10, 2022

hobi needs to stop liking everything he saw on the tl cause the way he liked crush’s post was not it

— muti🍬 | jimin day🥳✨ (@dazzlingtannies) October 10, 2022

hobi liking crush post is very disappointing and shouldnt no one get mad at anyone that is calling him out for it. "he probably didnt read it!" "he was just liking random stuff!" that is a grown ass man. where you in the room with him when he liked it? no.

— ً niece🫧 (@hyckflims) October 10, 2022

While J-Hope has not publicly spoken out about the controversy, he has since shared a post related to Crush, showing his support for his fellow music artist.

But another friend of Crush’s has directly spoken on the issue. Devin Morrison is a Black singer-songwriter known for “mixing ’90s R&B influences with gospel, hip-hop, and funk.”

He and Crush have collaborated on more than one occasion. In 2019, Morrison featured on “Lookin 4” and again on “Let Me” in 2020.

Knowing Crush well, he finally decided to speak out about the controversial viral clip.

perhaps my opinion on the incident might mean something since I know Crush…

— Devin Morrison (@DevinJMorrison) October 12, 2022

Like everyone, he was taken aback by it. He was more confused than anyone because he and his Black friends all have had good interactions with Crush. Morrison emphasized that Crush has always been respectful and kind.

its astounding how that 5 second viral clip has damn-near decimated the character of an artist who has treated me and my (Black) friends with nothing but respect and kindness.

— Devin Morrison (@DevinJMorrison) October 12, 2022

Morrison was sympathetic toward the Black fans in question. Still, he believes it was a misunderstanding for a couple of reasons.

while i can understand how the young lady and many others felt that it was racially targeted, for many reasons, that doesn’t make sense to me.

— Devin Morrison (@DevinJMorrison) October 12, 2022

Besides knowing what Crush is like in real, Morrison noticed a detail. While many interpreted Crush’s hand signal as rejecting the Black fans, Morrison pointed out that he did it several times to discourage all fans from pushing into each other. This also coincides with Crush’s statement regarding the issue.

i wasn’t there but it seems like he said ✋ a few times because the fans were pushing. so imagine singing while doing crowd control with phone flashes in your face.. pic.twitter.com/6eQuCK8dCw

— Devin Morrison (@DevinJMorrison) October 12, 2022

Morrison concluded by sharing a personal photo with him and Crush. He encouraged everyone to do more research to understand the context before canceling someone.

before emotionally reacting to anything you see on the internet. i encourage you all to gain as much context as you can and consider all possibilities. Crush is cool people. now leave me alone :) pic.twitter.com/cgT5tupkRy

— Devin Morrison (@DevinJMorrison) October 12, 2022

Besides Morrison’s own defense, many more netizens have provided further evidence, including a video of Crush clearly telling fans to be careful at the moment, as well as receipts of problematic tweets from the original poster.

crush is so misunderstood. I think this should be seen by everybody. pic.twitter.com/TJNezJAEex

— jayvee (@uarmyvibe) October 12, 2022

Read more below.

Netizens Debate Validity Of Crush’s Alleged Racism At Concert