Crush became involved in a controversy where he was accused of being racist following a fan interaction during a performance. The singer has since then responded with a statement.

Keep on reading to know more.

Crush Accused of Being Racist for Allegedly Ignoring Dark-Skinned Fans at Recent Performance

Recently on October 9, Crush attended and performed at the 2022 SOMEDAY PLEROMA festival that took place at Yonsei University.

However, on October 10, two fans who were there during Crush's performance at the festival took to their social media to share their experience interacting close-up with the singer, who they then accused of being racist.

According to the fans, who are dark-skinned, Crush had avoided touching their hands while high-fiving and touching the others around them in the front row of the show. They also shared a video of the incident, which has since then become viral and sparked anger among fans on social media.

In the said video, Crush can be seen giving high-fives to fans in the front row while performing his song "Don't Forget." He gave out high-fives as he walks along the stage up until he pauses and backs away, seemingly not giving high-fives to a few fans, before nodding in the audience's direction and continuing onwards.

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The fans then explained that they have been long-time fans of Crush. But during his performance, Crush had allegedly intentionally skipped over the two after seeing their dark skin.

Unsurprisingly, Crush received backlash for his actions, with K-pop fans calling him out and accusing him of being racist. This incident also triggered the resurfacing of Crush doing "blackface" during his appearance on the show King of Masked Singer in the past.

Crush Issues Statement After Being Accused of Racism

Following the backlash, Crush took to his social media to issue a statement in both English and Korean about his fan interactions at the festival.

In his statement, Crush said:

"Hi everyone,

I just wanted to address the issue revolving around the audience interaction from my performance last night at the 2022 SOMEDAY PLEROMA festival.

I've been away for roughly two years and being able to perform on stage with my dearest fans in the audience was such an unforgettable and long-awaited experience, so I naturally and instinctively walked towards and reached down to the crowd.

To avoid further misunderstanding, I would like to explain that I had to refrain from giving out high-fives with the fans in particular sections as a safety precaution - fans were getting too close to the fences holding up the audience section and I saw that those in the front row were getting pushed against the fence, so I made a quick judgement not to approach for the safety of my fans.

I sincerely apologize for the misunderstanding that my actions may have caused. I love each and every one of my fans and I would never discriminate nor favor anyone."

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What are your thoughts on the issue?

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Written by Robyn Joan