K-Pop singer apologises after wearing Nazi swastika and QAnon shirts

K-Pop star Chaeyoung has promised to “review” her wardrobe choices after wearing not one, but two deeply offensive tops within the past week.

The 23-year-old, who is a member of South Korean girl band TWICE issued a public apology for sporting a t-shirt featuring a swastika just days after donning a piece of QAnon merch.

She shared a statement via Instagram on Tuesday in which she “sincerely apologize[d]” for an earlier photo post.

The now-deleted picture showed her in a tee emblazoned with an image of Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious, who was wearing a t-shirt branded with the Nazi symbol.

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In her public apology, written in both Korean and English, Chaeyoung said: “I sincerely apologize regarding the Instagram post.

“I didn't correctly recognize the meaning of the tilted swastika in the t-shirt I wore.

“I deeply apologize for not thoroughly reviewing it, causing concern. I will pay absolute attention in the future to prevent any situation similar from happening again.”

Her words will hold little weight with some critics, given that she didn’t learn her lesson from the earlier outfit controversy.

Photos of Chaeyoung wearing the swastika tee (left) and QAnon top (right) were swiftly deleted from Instagramchaeyo.0/thinkaboutzu/Instagram

Chaeyoung performed with her eight TWICE bandmates on MBC’s ‘Music Core’ show over the weekend in a cropped top featuring a Q-shaped cut-out of the American flag and an excerpt of the QAnon slogan: “Where We Go One, We Go All”.

At the heart of QAnon is the entirely baseless conspiracy theory that Donald Trump, as president, was waging a secret war against elite Satan-worshipping paedophiles, including the likes of Hillary Clinton.

And whilst Chaeyoung hasn’t explicitly addressed the furore surrounding this particular item of clothing, her bandmate Tzuyu hastily removed a snap of her wearing it from her Instagram – so clearly the message reached TWICE.

And sure, you could argue that QAnon isn’t so well-known outside the English-speaking world, so Chaeyoung probably just didn’t know what her top was promoting.

And yes, it’s true that the swastika is an ancient symbol which, in most cultures is believed to confer good luck and happiness, rather than the emblem of pure evil which it has become to the western world.

And, ultimately, if you’re an international pop star you should really, really do your research before you get dressed.

Indy100 has contacted TWICE's record label, JYP Entertainment, for comment.

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