Fact Check: Did Lee Young Ji Mouth The N-Word In Her New TikTok?

Did solo rapper Lee Young Ji mouth the N-word in her new TikTok?

In English, the N-word is an ethnic, racial slur against Black people that originated as early as the 15th century and is traced back to slavery.

American civil rights organization NAACP‘s (The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) official position is that it does not condone the usage of the word “in any capacity.” Still, many African-Americans believe it’s okay to say the N-word as long as you are Black in an attempt at reclamation. So, you will often hear Black music artists, especially rappers and Hip-Hop artists, include it in their lyrics. Consequently, many non-Black people will sing along, and some Korean music artists have faced criticism for it.

Now, netizens are questioning if Lee Young Ji mouthed the N-word in her newly posted TikTok.

Lee Young Ji uploaded a TikTok today in which she pulled down her mask to lip-sync to the “Idontfwitu” audio which has been trending recently. The audio originates from American rapper Big Sean‘s song “I Don’t F*ck with You.”

The video has gone viral with 565.3K views at the time of writing. But some viewers did a double-take, thinking that Lee Young Ji mouthed the N-word.

@youngji_02

YOU

♬ Idontfwitu – 💎💎💎

Some commented, asking for confirmation because they were confused.

Others jumped to Young Ji’s defense. They pointed out that the word she’s singing along to is actually “thinkin’.”

While Big Sean’s song “I Don’t F*ck with You” contains many expletives, including the N-word, in this portion of the song, there is no usage of it.

I heard you got a new man, I see you takin’ a pic (Woah)
Then you post it up, thinkin’ that it’s makin’ me sick
Brr brr, I see you callin’, I be makin’ it quick
I’ma answer that sh*t like, ‘I don’t f*ck wit’-
Chu,’

— Big Sean, “I Don’t F*ck with You”

If you replay, focusing only on “thinkin’,” it looks like she sang the appropriate lyric.