The production team of MNET's dance survival program "Street Man Fighter" apologized belatedly after their chief producer Kwon Young Chan made a sexist remark.
Read on to see the full story.
MNET Issues Apology on Behalf of PD
On August 23, during MNET's "Street Man Fighter" presscon at Stanford Hotel, PD Kwon Young Chan was quoted saying:
"If there was jealousy and greed in the survival [program] for female dancers, I think the male dancers showed a lot of loyalty and pride."
Three days later, on August 27, the MNET apologized for his statement.
Hello, this is Mnet.
We apologize to everyone who may have felt uncomfortable due to inappropriate remarks from the producer at our Mnet 'Street Man Fighter' production presentation.
The producer's remarks were not in line with the core value of 'novelty that breaks prejudice' pursued by Mnet and the purpose of 'growth through competition and solidarity'. Mnet is deeply responsible for these generalized erroneous remarks.
Mnet's 'Street Woman Fighter' and 'Street Man Fighter' are programs designed to provide joy through dance through competition and solidarity among professional dancers, and to focus on the stories of the dancers to illuminate them.
In order not to disappoint those who love our programs, we promise to actively take various measures to prevent recurrence. We will continue to think and work harder in the future. Once again, we sincerely apologize.
Viewers React To MNET's Statement
The viewers did not like what the chief producer said as it felt like he was discriminating against the women of "Street Woman Fighter" and all of the women in general as he stated it.
One commenter felt like there are many other words the PD could have used to describe women but he used negative words like jealousy and greed. Other terms like competitive and a high desire to win would have been better.
For the commenter, the PD obviously glamorized the men's competition and hierarchy by using words like loyalty and pride.
Other comments are also criticizing the chief producer and his comment regarding women.
"I think what made 'Street Woman Fighter' so successful was that it was clear the editors were trying to portray an angle of jealousy and envy among the contestants but the contestants didn't fall into that trap. A patriarchal society constantly tries to pit women against each other and expects them to fight. This PD Kwon Young Chan should reveal his face and actually repent for his misogynistic words."
"What did he even mean? It's actually 'Street Woman Fighter' who seemed loyal and 'Street Man Fighter' who seemed full of tryhards and egos. What was the PD thinking by saying that?"
"I don't think he understands just how scary a man with an inferiority complex can be."
"In my near 50 years of life... the envy of men cannot compare to the jealousy of women"
On the other hand, MNET's "Street Man Fighter has aired its first episode on August 23 with solo singer Kang Daniel as its MC.
It will be airing new episodes every Tuesday, so don't miss out on the amazing dancers and crews on the show!
KpopStarz owns this article.
Written by Jaswin Singh
