iKON Under Fire For “Homophobic” Behaviors During Reality Show

Past video footage of iKON playing a game backstage went viral as netizens claimed that their actions were “homophobic” and “rude”.

since they deleted the video and went on private (which i knew it was gonna happen) i screen recorded it 💆🏻‍♀️ pic.twitter.com/xGXEpuBdo3

— ً (@forsope_twt) November 15, 2018

 

In the video, the members are playing a game where they call someone over the phone and try to get them to say a specific word. In this round, B.I had to get his mom to say “heol”, loosely meaning ‘wow’ in Korean.

When Donghyuk suggested that he tell her something shocking, B.I jokingly told his mom that he liked men.

“Mom… I actually like men.”

— B.I

 

As soon as he told his mother, the members burst into laughter.

 

Bobby then told him to change the topic to something else, while the production team added in comments about the news being unstable for his mom.

In the end, B.I’s mom didn’t say the right word, leading to him losing the game.

 

After this footage was originally posted up by a fan, many condemned iKON’s behavior as “homophobic” and “wrong”.

아이콘 호모포브들이네,,,, 근데 하나도 안놀랍다,,,

— 복희 🔪 (@xxyy718) November 15, 2018

“So iKON are homophobes,,, I’m not even an ounce surprised,,,” — @xxyy718

yall really out here defending ikon after they openly made fun of homophobia and the lgbt community….im disgusted pic.twitter.com/WgJT9QLOLr

— nikki (@DEARLYJONAH) November 15, 2018

People are seriously defending iKON? And I know it's a different culture, but how come groups like Stray kids and The Boyz can be respectful and they can't? It's not about them being Asian, Korean or however you want to justify that, it's about them being homophobic.

— Saey|🍋 (@saeyreal) November 15, 2018

i’ve never had a problem with ikon but this?? fake coming out is wrong anyway and then the members saying not to for his mom’s mental health? that’s so homophobic and wrong. there are people who are kicked out or even killed for loving the same gender and you make fun of it? wtf.

— 𝚊𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛｡.｡:+* (@gogoyujin) November 15, 2018

I'm saying this as a bi person. It is homophobic, and ANYONE who makes it a prank is doing something wrong, not just iKON. People get beat up, kicked out, abused, and even killed for their sexuality. It's not something to joke about, and just bc others are doesn't make it right.

— PhoenixEss 💜 (@ess_phoenix) November 15, 2018

 

However, other netizens and fans defended iKON by emphasizing that the video was from a long time ago, and that the members had no ill intentions.

They were laughing because they were scared of her mom’s reaction.. The whole situation was funny, they never said being gay is wrong. The game was maybe stupid & I can understand that some ppl are upset bc coming out is hard but ppl need to stop saying that ikon are homophobic

— 🌸 (@yunachoa) November 15, 2018

you can't reflect your opinions and feelings onto an action of someone else (in this case Hanbin) – you might feel it was homophobic and I'm sorry you feel that way, but your feelings don't make it true🤷 y'all are making him an ikon to be homophobic which is simply ridiculous

— stan Nine Percent | -15 (@yonggukownsme) November 15, 2018

and for those who said “i want ikon to apologize.” apologize for what? a joke made YEARS ago? we know the boys aren’t homophobic, we know they mean good intentions with everything they do and say, we don’t need an apology

— nick🐇 (@ikonicnj) November 15, 2018

Honestly I don’t really plan on defending Ikon but homophobia is a strong word…and I won’t give them that label especially because this issue happened ages ago. People can grow and we as fans will never know the full truth. HOWEVER education is important and making exposing +

— “ 📌rt pinned deal (@twicwice) November 15, 2018

 

Netizens are demanding that iKON apologize for their actions, but iKON and YG Entertainment has yet to release any statements about the matter.