Cosmetics Brand "Nature Republic" Is Under Fire For Allegedly Insulting NCT127 And Their Fans

Fans of NCT 127 are criticizing cosmetics brand Nature Republic for allegedly insulting the idols and their fans.

For context, on October 21, Nature Republic revealed a new event with the idols. The event stated that randomly selected customers who bought two Herbology creams and tweeted with the brand’s designated hashtag would receive a signed polaroid picture of NCT 127.

Nature Republic then revealed on November 21, in a now-deleted tweet, that they would be announcing the winners of the event on this day. According to Nature Republic, the brand had originally planned to announce the winners in December, but due to the event bringing in much fewer contestants than they had expected, they would announce the winner that day.

We will be announcing the winners of the event today! The event closed yesterday, and we had planned to announce the winners in December because we thought there would be tens of thousands of contestants. However, we only had a thousand contestants, so we’ll just announce the winner today. Please tune in.

— @nature-on/Twitter

Netizens were offended that the brand would belittle the event’s turnout and state that the event hadn’t been a success. Many also alleged that the tweet offended NCT 127 and their fans.

On November 22, the brand tweeted an apology for their previous offensive tweet.

트윗 관련하여 적절하지 못한 단어 선택과 표현으로 NCT 127 팬 여러분께 불편함을 끼쳐 드려 사과드립니다.

모든 의견을 겸허히 받아들이며, 트위터 게시글 작성에 신중하고 책임감 있는 모습 보여드리도록 하겠습니다.

— 네이처리퍼블릭 (@nature_on) November 22, 2022

We would like to apologize for using language that was offensive to NCT 127 fans. We accept your opinions and will be more responsible with our Twitter posts in the future.

— @nature_on/Twitter

Netizens, however, are not in a forgiving mood stating that the brand had crossed a line. Many accused the brand’s apology of not being sincere while demanding accountability on the part of the employee who had posted the tweet.

“They didn’t even apologize to the artist after ruining their image.”
“If it weren’t for NCT127, the event would have been an even bigger disaster. Seeing how the (brand’s employee) is acting, I am never going to use their cosmetics again.”
“I remember this company was the worst of all the companies I interviewed for. I guess people the that work there are all rude. What’s wrong with them?”
“Somethings never change, LOL.”
“Marketing Director, LOL. An intern wouldn’t make this mistake.”
“They are selling the hand creams for ₩30,000 KRW (about $22.10 USD). LOL. Have you no shame?”

Source: Wikitree and theqoo