NU’EST‘s Aron caused quite a commotion with one of his Music Access shows back in December 2013 and out of curiosity I took a listen to the particular radio slot that got Kpop fans talking on the net.
With Chocolat‘s Tia and Lori returning as guests that week, things were the usual spice of life when it came to fun Kpop radio shows. Everyone was talking about what they did during Christmas, what their wishes for the new year were and many other light-hearted topics. However when it came to fan mail submissions where fans that week were allowed to send in funny/embarrassing stories, one particular letter struck a discussion between the idols. A fan wrote about how she used to play with boys more when she was younger because there weren’t girls around her. To prove herself worthy she let herself get hit by some boys but hit a few back in return, only to realise later on that one boy didn’t want to fight her because he liked her.
Tia and Lori then echoed their thoughts on this story and discussed about how they also used to hang out with boys during their primary school years because they didn’t agree with the typical characteristic on how girls at school were gossipy. Aron agrees with a cheeky That’s why guys are superior statement followed by To be fair – this is my opinion, don’t take it offensively or anything but I think guys make better friends than girls. Girls – you guys are hot, you guys are cool, you guys are pretty, you guys are good to look at, you guys like to gossip a lot. And then he talks about a bro code, denying how guys don’t gossip at all. Wow.
I raised my eyebrows and replayed this conversation a few times to make sure I wasn’t mishearing things. So Aron, women are just there to be looked at because they’re hot? Tia and Lori, you think girls at school only know how to gossip?! Actually are these these the only things that all females exist for? Okay whatever you say, folks.
Browsing the first round of reactions towards Aron‘s views on women, I saw a lot of females were not impressed, regardless of whether they were NU’EST fans or not. I can’t say I blame them really because to begin with I did roll my eyes over the narrow-minded comments, even though it was likely he meant them light-heartedly.
Yes I do agree that female friends can be bitchy, stab you in the back etc *but* males can be like that too. They are capable of being just as competitive and jealous. Men and women are both vicious verbally and physically. It’s not just in school, it happens in a working environment. Then again I’m saying these things as somebody who never thinks female friends are better than males or vice versa. As long as I can talk to him/her about things openly it’s fine.
Days after his recent radio show, Aron posted the following statement on his Instagram
just postin a random photo to clear some things out. first off, I apologize to anyone who was offended by my comment. I am in no way, shape, or form a sexist, and never will be. I love women, all the power to you. but there are quite a few people misinterpreting what I meant and taking my words out of context. take the time to listen to the recordings. if you did, you’d probably know I was joking and that I was talkin about FRIENDSHIP, not sexism. like I said, those words weren’t meant to hurt anyone or target a specific group/gender, and I’m sincerely sorry if they did. so quit the fightin, stop bashin on each other, and live your lives. cuhs imma keep livin mine. life is too short to be fussin over little things like this. just some of my insight. hope y’all have a good night ! #nuest #aron #apology #sorry #donttakemywordsoutofcontext #notasexistandneverwillbe
Aron seems to be reading what the fans and critics have been saying about him. I hear he occasionally checks the activities of international fans so it is possible he saw lots of discussion threads on various communities going on about his commentary and promptly responded on his Instagram. One thought I got from this post, however, was this – isn’t jokingly talking about female friends still part of sexism?
Surprisingly a week later we then get a second apology.
after reflecting upon myself for the past few days, I realize what I said was very wrong. I apologize to anyone who was hurt my words, it was never my intention. I will definitely think before I speak from now on. I apologize to the fans that were hurt, and to the fans who continuously showed me their love and support. I also apologize if my last apology seemed sarcastic… that’s not how I meant to express myself. I hope you guys accept my apology and forgive me for my mistakes. please don’t degrade my members because of my mistakes… if you want to take your anger out, go ahead and take it out on me. again, I’m sorry and I will work hard to become a better person. I love all of you, and hope you all have great days! #nuest #aron #apology
This second apology was unexpected but honestly it sounded a lot better than his previous attempt. I actually believed what he wrote in this second post. The words were more genuine. Aron made a valid point about his fellow bandmates though. I understand the anger from fans and non-fans alike over what he said originally though the people saying degrading things such as wishing he would die or that NU’EST should disband for good was quite over the top and to drag his band mates into this situation was unnecessary.
My early eye-rolling over Aron ‘s words eventually faded away when he made these statements on his Instagram and I applaud him for realising what he said was offensive, taking the time to apologise TWICE. This situation shows idols are not perfect creatures. They can mess up like any regular person does in life with what they say.
On the other hand we could just summarise this big error as something down to ignorance and age (he’s 20 years old). Should we have expected much from Aron or the Chocolat girls who are younger than him because of what they said? Maybe my inner jaded Ahjumma is talking here?!
Despite posting these apologies, Aron won’t be able to escape from this scenario that easily since the entire dialogue was in English. Nobody can use the “translation inaccuracies” excuse here. This guy is going to have fans and non-fans alike side-eyeing him or observe him much more cautiously but hopefully he’ll keep to his word and be more aware of what he says/does in future.
