Upcoming Rookie Group NINE.i Under Fire For Using Sensitive And Historical Imagery For Their Teaser Aesthetic

It had imagery from the Holocaust, civil rights protests, and more.

 FirstOne Entertainment has since released a statement apologizing for the images used.

This month, FirstOne Entertainment is set to debut their newest boy group NINE.i. Yet, despite only releasing teasers for their first release, the group and company are already under fire after clips in their “Prologue Film” contained sensitive imagery of historical events.

Members of NINE.i | @NINE_i_Firstone/ Twitter

On March 9, NINE.i shared a video on their YouTube channel called, “PROLOGUE FILM [THE BIRTH OF NEW ALGORITHM].” The video is a five-minute clip that aims to give fans an insight into the group’s concept and what to expect when they eventually debut.

Yet, as soon as it was posted, it drew negative comments from netizens due to the graphic imagery. In particular, viewers noticed imagery that was related to black oppression, the Holocaust, and the American Civil War.

| @fatou.fairy/ TikTok 

Some of those images and clips were from rallies in America of citizens fighting for rights for black people and women during the 1950s and 1960s. There were also war scenes and clips from concentration camps in Nazi Germany.

| @fatou.fairy/ TikTok

As soon as the clip was released, netizens started posting their views on TikTok, and one has been viewed over 630,000 times, linking an original source with the full clips from the teaser.

Netizens raised their concerns about the clips and wondered how nobody from the company thought to raise concerns before sharing the video to start with. Many also shared anger that the trauma of different people and nations was used as a concept for a K-pop group.

Although the company has since deleted the particular clips from the teaser…

The new opening without the imagery | NINE.i OFFICIAL/ YouTube 

They have yet to release a formal apology or address the issues.

Instead, they are continuing to release content for the group. Many even pointed out that a recent post on their Twitter used the words omitted from the scenes that were deemed offensive.

When this was shared, netizens continued to voice their anger that the company made no attempt to post an apology about the issue and continued their promotion for the group.

It seems as if more and more, netizens have called out K-Pop companies for the lack of consideration when creating material. Yet, despite the apologies issued, it continues to be something that impacts K-Pop fans regularly as they make the same mistakes.

FirstOne Entertainment and NINE.i are yet to make a statement.

Source: @fatou.fairy