Aespa Giselle’s Racial Slur Controversy Resurfaces As New Fan Debate Sparks Controversy

A clip of two alleged aespa fans having a conversation about how great the girl group’s album design is has recently gone viral and sparked intense debate online. The video initially gained traction on TikTok and has since made its way on X (formerly known as Twitter) as well.

| SM Entertainment

The controversy sparked has nothing to do with the album itself but rather with the two girls admitting they are put off of buying a copy because they would not want to pull a Giselle photocard.

aespa 에스파 'Whiplash' ae-GISELLE : Whiplash Universe

aespa 에스파 The 5th Mini Album〖Whiplash〗
➫ 2024.10.21 6PM (KST)

🔗 https://t.co/8IVqBeE9vE
💿 https://t.co/vf9C9KK4FO#aespa #æspa #에스파 #GISELLE #지젤#Whiplash #aespaWhiplash pic.twitter.com/sUGfOKAC1U

— aespa (@aespa_official) September 29, 2024

The clip starts with the girls praising the group and their famously intricate designs…

This would be a really cute album kit… I just don’t want to pull Giselle.

— Fan on the clip

| @aerichandesu/Instagram

But it soon turns into criticism towards Giselle.

Fan 1: Literally, I was thinking, ‘If I pull Giselle, I’ll actually flip over and die.’ I would actually be pissed off.

Fan 2: I don’t care how much hate I get… Bro don’t get me started on this sh*t…

#kpop #fyp #aespa #kpopfyp

♬ original sound – STREAM SAD SONG‼️🗣️ jiung

The two girls then mention Giselle’s past controversy, where she mouths the racist N slur during a behind-the-scenes video of aespa recording their “Savage” music video. Back in 2021, a video of her singing along to SZA’s Love Galore and lip-syncing the N-word went viral.

SM Entertainment Privates aespa Video After Outcry Over Giselle Mouthing A Racial Slur

Giselle faced heavy criticism from mainly international fans and was forced to release an official apology.

I had no intentions of doing it with any purpose and got carried away when one of my favorite artist’s song was played.

— Aespa’s Giselle on mouthing the N slur

Hello, this is GISELLE.

I would like to apologize for mouthing the wrongful word from the lyrics of the song that was playing on-site. I had no intentions of doing it with any purpose and got carried away when one of my favorite artist's song was played. I sincerely apologize.

— aespa (@aespa_official) October 25, 2021

While some fans appreciated and accepted the aespa star’s apology, others did not feel the same. Thus, the controversy has followed Giselle since then, with some fans still remaining critical of her. In fact, even at the time, many found her apology insufficient and excusatory.

also how does your company edit and upload it afterwards without seeing anything wrong with it? 💀

— ⬟ eva ⬠ (@artisthyunggu) October 25, 2021

Based on the viral clip, it seems that even after years have passed, some have still not forgiven her. However, some fans jumped on her defense. On TikTok, the clip that went viral was posted by an account that did not agree with the two fans, claiming they had no right to say that after Giselle had already apologized. The original poster also claims the two fans called Giselle “ugly” in one of their replies.

“they don’t have to forgive giselle” kiss my fat ass bitch these two ugly stinky little girls thought it would be ok to call her ugly and mock her for the entire reaction don’t piss me offffffff this isn’t about her saying the n word this is about these two bitches disliking… pic.twitter.com/gDURmkCJEx

— ☆ 🏁 (@khiawings) September 29, 2024

The comments section, with nearly 2000 replies currently, is a whole different story. The general sentiment in the comments is that the two fans, who are Black, have all the right not to accept Giselle’s apology and continue to feel disappointed or upset at her behavior. Regardless, there are still fans who defend her by claiming that if you don’t support Giselle, then there’s no reason to support aespa.

| TikTok

| TikTok

Others claim that, unlike the two viral fans, they’d be extremely happy if they pulled a Giselle photocard. What are your thoughts?