Former PRISTIN member and current HINAPIA member Yaebin is under fire for saying the n-word in an Instagram Live.
On August 11, Tuesday, Yaebin held an Instagram Live and was rapping to a Nicki Minaj song. While rapping, she ended up rapping the n-word. When fans started calling her out in the live stream for saying the derogatory slang, she said, "I know that you guys are really sensitive about it so I really censored it." However, if you listen to the video, she does not censor herself when she says the n-word.
i don't want to overstep and if i am please let me know but i do not see anyone tweeting about this and it shouldn't go ignored. yesterday yaebin said the n word while rapping on her ig live pic.twitter.com/SlKLdw83u4 — briar #WeLoveYouKwonMina (@seojuhyuncult) August 12, 2020
Fans from around the world were extremely disappointed in Yaebin. Not only were they disappointed that she said the n-word, but people are also upset that she said people were just being "sensitive". The n-word is a racist insult that was used predominantly by Caucasian people in the mid-20th century (predominantly in the United States) to insult African-Americans and to degrade them for being of lower status to the white man.
In popular culture, African-Americans have taken the word and use it mostly with other African-Americans. It is looked down upon by other races to use it due to its racist, derogatory, and insulting history.
Following the backlash, Yaebin shared a two-part apology to her Instagram Story. In the first part of her apology, she apologized for saying the n-word and said that she tried to censor it but didn't realize that she was unable to until she saw the video. She acknowledged being disrespectful, insensitive, and ignore, but claims that she was unaware of the word's historical background. She said she was naive when she said people were "sensitive" but that she had no bad intentions, and that it was due to her lack of education that she didn't know the real meaning of the word.
She promises that she will educate herself on the matter and that she is sorry for hurting people's feelings.
In the second part of her apology, she explained that she thought the n-word was just another swear word. After being told by fans what it really meant, she acknowledged that she had no right to say the word and has "assaulted" people's culture. She once again says that she will educate herself more on it and says "I'm sorry" repeatedly.
While some fans were thankful she acted fast and released an apology, some people think she is making excuses. In the video, it appears she already knows the gravity of the slur since she tried to say she censored it, leading many to assume she already knew it was bad to say to begin with.
What do think of Yaebin's apology?
Yaebin was first introduced to the public as a contestant on Mnet's "Show Me The Money 4" in 2015, but was eliminated in the second episode. She appeared as a contestant in "Produce 101" in 2016, where she represented her former company, Pledis Entertainment.
She ranked 29th place and was eliminated in episode 10. Following her appearance on the show, Yaebin debuted under the stage name Rena with PRISTIN, a girl group under Pledis Entertainment. Following almost a year with no group activities, Yaebin debuted in the first PRISTIN sub-unit, "PRISTIN V", in 2018.
In May 2019, PRISTIN disbanded after almost two years with no whole group activities. It was announced that seven out of the ten members would be leaving the company after chosing not to renew their contracts. Yaebin was one of the seven to leave.
In October 2019, Yaebin alongside former PRISTIN members Minkyeung, Eunwoo, and Gyeongwon signed with OSR Entertainment and will be debuting in a new group. In November of 2019, she and the aforementioned idols debuted in HINAPIA with new member, Bada. The group has had no activities since their debut.
