On May 21, Jeans responded to fans' requests for comments on the plagiarism allegations against NewJeans. In a brief message, the Mexican group appeared to show support for NewJeans.
The controversy began when a viral post accused NewJeans of copying the style of the 90s group. However, fans of NewJeans quickly debunked the claims, arguing that the similarities were coincidental and reflective of broader trends from the Y2K and 90s eras rather than direct copying.
Netizens were quick to criticise HYBE, NewJeans' agency, alleging that the company might have orchestrated the original post to create a smear campaign against the group.
Check out some of the reactions from Korean netizens. "Oh no, you guys exposed yourselves, lol. Make sure you do a ritual to rinse yourself of the embarrassment, lol," wrote one user. "This is an embarrassment, there’s no other way to describe this, lol," commented another.
"HYBE is an embarrassment," wrote one person. "Bang Si Hyuk is so embarrassing," remarked another.
Another netizen remarked, "Ah, this is so funny. I’m sure they’re going to fabricate something else to bring more hate, lol."
Many netizens defended NewJeans, emphasising the broader influences of Y2K and 90s aesthetics on current pop culture, making it difficult to pinpoint an original source of inspiration. One comment noted, "NewJeans is influenced by all of the aesthetics from the Y2K era and the 90s. How can you find the original (influence)?"
The hilarity of the situation was highlighted by another netizen who pointed out the absurdity of the original claims, "It’s hilarious that they tried to make the claim with edited clips in the first place, lol. F*ck."
Further, another netizen referenced a previous interaction between NewJeans and another 90s group, TLC, who had also expressed positive sentiments towards the resurgence of 90s trends. "LOL, TLC shouted out NewJeans and now Jeans replied that they love the fact the 90s are coming back. Now what are you going to do HYBE?"
The lighthearted nature of the responses continued with comments like, "They are Lucky Jeans," and "Lol, this is hilarious."
Despite the accusations, the overall sentiment among netizens seemed to lean towards viewing the situation with humour rather than serious concern.
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