aespa’s Karina Accused of Bullying Winter In Viral Post

aespa’s Karina is facing criticism after a short clip resurfaced online showing her playfully imitating fellow member Winter.

While most fans saw the moment as harmless teasing between close friends, one now-viral post on Pann accused Karina of mocking Winter and crossing the line into bullying.

The clip shows Karina exaggerating Winter’s tone and mannerisms in a joking way. 

You have to watch the video. Winter is really gentle and soft-hearted, the type who can’t show when she’s uncomfortable, so she just keeps taking it.

Meanwhile, Karina imitates Winter in that kind of way, throws subtle jabs at her, and even deliberately exaggerates the impression, yeah. On livestreams, she acts like she’s the closest to Winter, but honestly it feels like she does that because Winter seems the easiest to push around to her, lol. She can’t do anything like that to Ningning or Giselle, but she acts this way only toward Winter.

Any aespa fan probably knows this.

— Viral post on Pann

However, backlash against these claims was just as strong. Many fans defended Karina, saying the clip was clearly playful and taken out of context.

They pointed out that Karina and Winter have consistently shown genuine affection toward each other since debut, both on and off camera. 

• “If you don’t have friends, it might be hard for you to understand what friendship even is…”
• “Honestly, this Karina–Winter ‘divide and stir up drama’ stuff is just funny from a fan’s perspective. These two have been genuinely close and affectionate since debut, it’s so obvious. Their dynamic isn’t popular for no reason.”
• “The fact that you see that as ‘picking on her’ is basically you self-certifying as a socially maladjusted, hardcore loser… it’s honestly kind of sad. Seriously, hang in there.”
• “Go watch the slide video and you’ll never say that. Two grown adults riding it while hugging each other from front and back. Do you think that’d be possible if they were throwing shade at each other? Just go watch it once.”
• “This is who she is, though… I just feel sorry for the other members.”