Members of DE:VA, a girl group formed under NA Entertainment and set to debut sometime in the second half of 2025, have found themselves in hot water after fans dug up racist comments.
NA Entertainment, previously LPA Entertainment before a rebrand, found itself embroiled in scandal in 2022 when evidence surfaced of the company's CEO asking trainees to send photos of themselves in underwear.
Two members of DE:VA, Mei and Kia, are now under scrutiny for their digital footprint as fans investigate Mei's past racist comments and questionable Pinterest boards made by Kia.
That girl Ana/mei in de:va said the n word and she's not black. This person tried to say she was 25% as if that's a justification of her saying a slur. She also pulled a black girls wig off over a Korean man.....
— 𝒩 ✦ (@nikiv3rsion) December 30, 2024
this is mei/anna from de:va's apology for saying the n word😭 pic.twitter.com/qssWCVYoXJ
— ⁵tweety bird⁵ loves halmeonies (@yeojaapink) December 30, 2024
so.. DE:VA girl had a whole Pinterest board full of people's children called "me and changbins future kids"..? pic.twitter.com/iTB5leUX31
— 𝄢 fellyelly is very normal abt skz (@kkeodeok) December 29, 2024
HUH? Is this fr???
— 𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙮⁸∞ | 🇵🇸🍉 (@dwaeology) December 30, 2024
Following the allegations, Kia issued an apology statement, pleading fans to forgive her past mistakes.
"I know that what I did is not forgivable, I was a young girl, a child, who did not think about her actions and consequences, I did not know much about K-pop. Seeing people's reactions I also quickly understood that some of my actions can offend people," she wrote.
"I apologize form the bottom of my heart, I learned from my mistakes and I also grew up."
Hi, this is Kia of DE:VA #deva #kia pic.twitter.com/KMFkwZHA3o
— DE:VA Official (@De_Va__official) December 30, 2024
On December 22, DE:VA announced through an Instagram story that they had left NA Entertainment and were looking for a new agency, aiming to debut in the second half of 2025.
DE:VA revealed that Alice and Nina had left, leaving five members Kia, Mei, Natasha, Karine, and Sylvia.
