This Moment From TWICE's "Showterview With Jessi" Appearance Is Sparking Heated Debates On Twitter, Here's Why

The show has issued an official statement regarding the matter.

TWICE recently guested on Showterview With Jessi, and a particular moment from the episode is setting Twitter on fire. Netizens have accused Jessi of saying colorist remarks after Tzuyu mentioned wanting to have lighter skin for a day.

Here, Jessi asked TWICE to pick the member they would like to switch bodies with for a day.

Tzuyu picked Dahyun because she wants to try having monolids.

I have double eyelids while Dahyun unnie doesn’t, so I’m kind of jealous about her charming monolids.

— Tzuyu

Besides this, Tzuyu also wishes to experience having skin as light as hers. Dahyun is known for possessing one of the fairest skins in the K-Pop industry.

And also, in terms of skin tone, I’m not on the bright side…so…

— Tzuyu

Upon hearing Tzuyu’s answer, Jessi looked at herself and cried out, “What?”

Tzuyu clarified that rather than feeling insecure about her body, she simply wants to see what it’s like to be in Dahyun’s shoes.

I mean, it’s not that I don’t like my skin tone. I just want to live like her just once.

— Tzuyu

Jessi joked that all it takes to achieve fairer skin is to use a deep skin scrub.

Hey, try scrubbing off the dead skin real hard.

— Jessi

She added that her skin “got milky” when she scrubbed it the previous day.

Seriously, I scrubbed it off the other day, and my skin got milky!

— Jessi

Co-host Jung Shik then joked, “So are these all dead skin?” to which Jessi answered, “Let’s just leave it at that.”

One reason why netizens found their conversation problematic is because of Tzuyu’s desire to have lighter skin for a change despite her claims that she is already satisfied with her skin tone.

Jessi’s allegedly colorist reply only added fuel to the fire, indirectly showing a preference for fairer skin.

They found that her advice to scrub off dead skin cells was problematic in and of itself. Instead, many would have preferred that she compliment Tzuyu on her already beautiful skin.

It’s still a colorist statement made by Jessi. Whatever you call it, dirt/dead skin cells, the fact that Jessi told Tzuyu to ‘scrub it off’ is still problematic. Having a dark-skin is not equal to ‘not scrubbing off dead cells’, so it’s still not appropriate for Jessi to say that

— 🍓🌈 #FreeAllPoliticalPrisoners (@_meowlenne_) June 18, 2021

Moreover, some netizens were upset that TWICE laughed at Jessi’s remarks.

admit that twice was in the wrong here but don’t pin it on certain members. acknowledge the real issue that is the fact that jessi made a colorist ‘joke’ and that the members laughed at it … there’s nothing to defend here

— isa (@minascactus) June 18, 2021

On the other hand, fans have come to Tzuyu’s defense by claiming she’s a victim of Korea’s high beauty standards and that she mentioned being satisfied with her skin tone before Jessi even gave her advice.

They pointed out that wanting to experience another person’s life is not the same as being colorist.

tzuyu always says she wants to experience life from different perspectives. she says she wants to know what it’s like to be short like chaeyoung, she says she wants to know what it’s like to be a man, etc. she’s not upset about her skintone and she said she likes it

— yeri’s legend 🐦 (@kardvelvets) June 18, 2021

Others, still, believe that TWICE was not laughing at any colorist remark. Rather, they claim that TWICE was simply laughing at Jessi’s reference to Korea’s body scrub culture.