ZEROBASEONE’s Sung Hanbin Issues 3rd Apology Amid Intense Backlash Over Now-Deleted Clip
ZEROBASEONE‘s Sung Hanbin has addressed a recent controversy following massive criticism.
Hanbin and Matthew appeared on a YouTube program to promote the group’s comeback. During the program, Matthew revealed a story about Hanbin. According to Matthew, Hanbin makes a “strange” noise when going over speed bumps in a car, which he then demonstrated.
@realgranolaapplraspberry they’re so funny I can’t 😭 #zerobaseone #zb1 #sunghanbin #seokmatthew #fyp
Many international fans found the clip to be funny and saw nothing wrong with it, however, Korean netizens had different feelings.
The video was shared on multiple platforms, where netizens believed him to be mimicking a woman moaning. Comments referred to the idol as misogynistic, with some even saying this ruined their image of Hanbin.
- The fact that something like that comes out of someone’s mouth, makes it onto a broadcast, and yet there’s nobody to stop it… isn’t that such a depressing reality? If there had even been one woman on set, wouldn’t it have been considered sexual harassment? It just feels disgusting.
- I’m not even related to this, but I suddenly feel like I was sexually harassed for no reason. As a woman, how could I ever feel like defending this?
- I want to wash my ears… I want to cleanse them… Please, don’t listen out of curiosity thinking “what could it be?” It’s literally in the tone + voice of a woman in a Japanese porn video.
- I saw the clip going around and thought, “How bad can it be?” but after watching, wow… the video is real. Is that really a male idol? An idol doing that?
The initial backlash led to an apology from Hanbin via a fan chatting platform, and a second longer one.
Ah… On Ggondaehee I really went too far.
I honestly had no other intention, but maybe I got too greedy for variety show airtime.
If any Zerose felt uncomfortable because of me, I sincerely apologize. I’m sorry…
Let’s work on improving my way with words — Sung Hanbin.— Hanbin
Y/N, my reply came way too late, didn’t it..
Thank you for waiting for me.
To the Zerose who must have been really shocked, I only feel deeply sorry.
I’ll take this incident as a chance to reflect once more on the parts where I was lacking and ignorant, and I promise I’ll make every effort to be even more careful with my actions going forward.
Let’s wrap up the day and get some good rest — I’ll message you in the morning.
I love you, so much.— Hanbin
Continued backlash from netizens has now led to a third apology from the idol, who stated he had reflected on his actions and think more carefully about his actions in the future.
Hello, this is Sung Hanbin of ZEROBASEONE.
I sincerely apologize for the discomfort caused by my careless words and actions in the Ggondaehee video released on September 6.After this incident, I needed some time to gather my thoughts before speaking. During that time, I reflected a lot on how much more carefully I must act and speak, and on what kind of person I need to grow into moving forward.
At the time, in my nervousness, I failed to think deeply and used an inconsiderate expression. Though there was never any intention behind it, I now realize that my lack of awareness can still cause hurt. I feel only ashamed and truly sorry.
Once again, I apologize to Zerose and everyone who may have felt uncomfortable because of my shortcomings. I will take this incident as a lesson to move forward with greater responsibility and maturity.
I will continue to learn and work sincerely, striving to show you a changed self through my actions so as not to disappoint you.
Once again, I express my heartfelt apologies.
— Hanbin
The original video featured the clip around the 17:10 mark, but has since been deleted.
