Fans of aespa claim to have spotted a staff member take a hidden camera photo of Winter in their behind-the-scenes video. SM Entertainment has since released a statement on the matter.

Did a Staff Member Take a Hidden Camera Photo of aespa's Winter?

On Mar. 10, 2021, aespa shared a behind-the-scenes video of them for their photoshoot with DAZED and Givenchy. While the video seemed normal enough, at the 8:57 mark, fans noticed something odd. A male staff member had his phone out and is seen opening a camera application. He then holds the phone and walks behind Winter.

He pauses for a moment behind Winter, in which fans allege he took a photo of the idols behind. He then walks away, putting his phone in his pocket. For the shoot, Winter was wearing long pants. However, the pants had cuts all around them and are fairly revealing in the back.

(Photo : Givenchy)

Upon seeing the video, fans have started mass emailing the company to take action and protect their artists. They have tagged SM Entertainment in clips of the video and screenshots.

Additionally, they are demanding the staff member to release his own personal statement through his Instagram account.

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MYs (aespa's fandom) have received automated messages in response, saying that their messages will be passed along to their respective representative. This has not stopped the fans, however. Many are contacting SM Entertainment's customer care center in the hopes of getting a response.

SM Entertainment Denies Staff Member Took Hidden Camera Photo

Following the controversy, SM Entertainment released an official statement concerning the situation with Winter and their staff member. The company denied the staff member taking a hidden camera photo of the idol and claimed Winter enjoyed the shoot at the time. Their whole statement reads:

(Photo : aespa Twitter)

"We have confirmed that the photographer in charge of the shoot, who appeared in the video that has been mentioned, did not do what he was accused of. Winter, of course, had fun at the photoshoot back then, and there were no incidents that made them uncomfortable, nor were there any happening that could be misunderstood."

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The company thanked fans for showing concern for aespa and Winter. They also expressed their hopes for no more misunderstandings to occur in the future.

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What do you think of the situation?

aespa's Recent Activities

On Feb. 10, it was announced that aespa was appointed the 2021 ambassador of Givenchy. This marked the first time Givenchy has selected a K-pop star as their brand ambassador.

On Feb. 5, aespa released the single "Forever." The song is a remake of Yoo Young Jin's song of the same name. "Forever" was described as a mid-tempo ballad with an acoustic guitar sound. Lyrically, the song talks about promising forever to the person you love.

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Written by Alexa Lewis