G-Dragon's Camp Says K-Pop Star Wasn't Wearing Blackface

[benihime99.livejournal.com]

Says Trayvon Martin-like Instagram photo was both "HUGE misunderstanding" and reference to cover art from Big Bang mastermind's next solo effort



An Instagram photo of South Korean pop idol G-Dragon wearing what appears to be a hoodie and dark coloring over his skin was not meant as a comment on race or politics, according to a rep for the Big Bang leader.

"GD was simply wearing different facepaint colors and this is a HUGE misunderstanding," the spokesperson said in an email to SPIN. "The facepaint is only a color variation for his album cover which includes black, white, and red. It is in no way meant to be a political or racial statement."

The rep further clarified, "It’s being derived by a simple photo shoot where GD was using different facepaint colors for his upcoming album."

G-Dragon's spokesperson also said SPIN's article reporting on the image "is completely wrong and taken out of context."

The response comes after we reported on the photo, noting its resemblance to an iconic image of slain Florida youth Trayvon Martin and pointing out that it had drawn criticism online. Though the singer's Instagram account made no mention of Martin, the image bears an eerie similiarity to a meme that had Frank Ocean, Diddy, the-Dream, and others posting photos of themselves in a hoodie last year. (Rap-Up has a good collection of these Martin-inspired images.) Online forums Oh No They Didn't! and One Asian World previously pointed out an alleged connection to the Martin tributes.

G-Dragon is set to appear at KCON 2013, a K-pop convention in Los Angeles on August 24 and 25, and he is readying a new solo album. G-Dragon's 2012 "Crayon" was SPIN's No. 1 K-pop song of the year. His group Big Bang's "Bad Boy" was one of SPIN's 21 Greatest K-Pop Songs of All Time. Check out our coverage of a Big Bang concert in New Jersey here.

The original Instagram photo is below:

That's some Justin Bieber level of PR...

EDIT:
the official omona twitter has shared our open letter with authors from spin and the la times who wrote articles about GD.

Spin

Comments

[45s.livejournal.com]

Lol but this clown ass could have just put a 2word caption to avoid misinterpretation. Like "big news" or something.

Way to spin negative press to tell us of the next fail album tho. Ugh

(And a huge LOL at all of you saying it was a mask)

[frantastic.livejournal.com]

(And a huge LOL at all of you saying it was a mask)

ikr! tho the Nightcrawler cosplay excuse was my favourite

[45s.livejournal.com]

YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO bc i just busted out laughing at my desk DID SOMEONE ACTUALLY SAY THAT THO?!

[frantastic.livejournal.com]

Yeppp, several tumblr posts and a comment on this (http://www.spin.com/articles/k-pop-g-dragon-blackface-trayvon-martin-hoodie-instagram-photo/) article:

(http://oi44.tinypic.com/2wn31g2.jpg)

[porcupinegloves.livejournal.com]

LMAO this is too funny

[45s.livejournal.com]

i cannot even with these ppl. and afaik, he didn't verify or say shit until this statement came about but lol forever and that has to be a troll

[45s.livejournal.com]

jesus be a fence

[modestgoddess79.livejournal.com]

God this is so stupid. WHO IS GIVING YOU YOUR INFORMATION

BEST PART

[shanny-w.livejournal.com]

what kind of dark twisted tunnels and decrepit crumbling passageways through their mind did they have to travel to arrive at that conclusion? oh, the workings of a genius' mind. we shall never understand. we're not smart enough to put two and two together.

[redhandedjilll.livejournal.com]

lol isn't Nightcrawler blue, anyway?

[heartsolid.livejournal.com]

Lol yes; why I personally thought that poor excuse was even more hilarious

[modestgoddess79.livejournal.com]

blue is totes the new black

[millie (from livejournal.com)]

Thank you. A very dark blue, but blue nonetheless.

[jasmineakaiumi.livejournal.com]

came in here to say that

[benihime99.livejournal.com]

those people are color blind though

[hipployta.livejournal.com]

The nightcrawler one still annoys me

[miwa201.livejournal.com]

(And a huge LOL at all of you saying it was a mask)

vips on onehallyu were all like "he's promoting the saem! it's definitely a face mask, i cannot wait until he clears that out to laugh at everyone who doubted him" (i made the mistake of trying to explain to these people why what he did was wrong. never again) and some even spread the rumor he commented on the photo saying it's a face mask, even adding ";__;", aww poor baby gd. i'm so happy it wasn't a face mask just for these idiots.

[modestgoddess79.livejournal.com]

Yes it was one of those really thin smooth face mask that you put on your eyelids and damn it when people do avocado mask you don't accuse them of doing green face and being racist against aliens with your darn Earth centric beliefs, everything does not revolve around the Earth it revolves around the Sun!

[45s.livejournal.com]

LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL

(girl you're gonna make me crack up loud in here!)

[reelrecnizereel.livejournal.com]

Lmaooo

[nemo-011.livejournal.com]

How is thinking it was a face mask far-fetched? there wasn't any caption or anything on the photo

[kotetsu.livejournal.com]

mostly because face masks do not cover your close to lips or get nearly that close to eyelids. it'd be a risk of them peeling off and hurting you, or just generally getting into your eyes. especially with something as damaging as a "charcoal" mask ppl were trying to claim it to be.

[nemo-011.livejournal.com]

lol you'd be surprised. I've seen people do that

[45s.livejournal.com]

bc as everyone said, you don't put a mask over your eyelids and lips.