SNL Korea blasted after female crew grope male idols
B1A4 / Courtesy of Wikipedia
By Ko Dong-hwan
The female crew of a Korean TV comedy is under fire after a SNS video shows them allegedly touching the “private parts” of idol singers hosting the show.
In the video, posted on SNL Korea’s Facebook on Nov. 26, the weekly tvN show’s acting crew, chief producer and K-pop boy band B1A4 hold a backstage pep-talk meeting just minutes before the live show.
Chief producer Ahn Sang-hwi praises the band’s five members’ acting skills and says the skits in front of live audiences will be “loaded with a lot of fun.” He then briskly presents the singers to the show’s regular crew.
After Ahn introduces the band to the crew, three females from the crew rush at two band members, with plenty of body contact.
The women appear to be touching the singers’ private parts because, after the crew finished embarrassing the singers with possible grappling and prodding, the two singers look dumbfounded with their hands covering their private parts.
The singers stay looking confused for a few seconds, and the meeting soon wraps up with a cheery group high-five.
Members of B1A4 look embarassed after several female crew of SNL Korea touched their "private parts" during a backstage pep-talk meeting minutes before the live show on Nov. 26.
The video, also shared on YouTube, has brought a torrent of comments criticizing the female crew, particularly comedienne Lee Se-young, a popular star of the show, for sexually harassing the singers.
“Korea is lenient for female sexual harassers. When men touch women, they are sure to be accused of a sexual crime. But when women do that, it suddenly becomes a joke people can laugh away,” says “AA xxxxxx” on the video-sharing site.
Another YouTube watcher says the actresses “must have gone mad seeing the cute boys right in front of them.”
The show’s Facebook site has erased the video and posted an apology to “members of B1A4 and their fans who might have felt uncomfortable watching the controversial clip.”
“It was our inappropriate gesture towards our host. We will be careful next time,” the statement says.
Despite the apology, netizens again lambasted the post with more than 2,000 comments, some requesting a “better apology” or being cynical about the prompt apology compared to its consistent slowness in responding to past comments criticizing the late night show’s content, mainly spiced with vulgar jokes.
Many netizens have demanded that Lee step down from the show for good. The star posted her written letter of apology on Instagram on Monday.
On Oct. 22, the show’s female crew allegedly harassed K-pop boy band Infinite, the day’s host,
in a sexual way during the backstage pep-talk session.
Lee Se-young in a scene from SNL Korea / Courtes of tvN
The video, already on the Internet, Lee is again seen lunging sexually at several members of the seven-member band. The idols hurriedly cover their private areas with their hands, while some crouch on the floor.
Lee then says, “I touched them all,” laughing.
Netizens claim that K-pop boy band Block B, who hosted the show on Mar. 26, was also sexually harassed. The netizens say the females’ inappropriate sexual conduct toward the weekly hosts is “habitual.”
Following the public backlash, Lee was rumored on Monday as having decided to leave the show. But Ahn told online daily Sports Chosun that the rumor was untrue.