Entertainment
Monsta X agency apologises after I.M faces backlash for shirt emblazoned with Islamic phrase
Monsta X’s agency Starship Entertainment has apologised after I.M was pictured wearing a shirt which had an Islamic phrase emblazoned on it.
The rapper, who is promoting his upcoming solo project Duality, was criticised for wearing the shirt, which features a phrase used in Islamic prayer.
Starship said, according to the South China Morning Post: ‘We should have taken further measures to ensure that there were no religious implications in the concept photos in advance and we regret not being able to scrutinise it fully.
‘We deeply apologise to those who felt uncomfortable with our actions.’
The agency reportedly added that it ‘will make every effort to prevent a recurrence.’
It has also deleted the first set of teaser photos from Monsta X’s official social media accounts.
Considering you’re one of the famous kpop boy group in korea and America you should educate yourself first about every culture and religion before you start doing this shit. There’s no such thing as “we didn’t know’ when it come to this.
— bts24/⁷ (@_moonjin7) February 14, 2021
Fans were left disappointed by the star – real name Im Chang-kyun – for his choice of clothing, with one writing on Twitter: ‘Guys don’t repost/tweet the promo pic of I.M!
‘The symbol on his shirt has a Islamic symbol printed on it and Islamic fans are deeply hurt by this!’
Another said: ‘Our religion is NOT an aesthetic. if you want to put a foreign language on a shirt then do your research first.’
One more reponded to the promo photos, writing: ‘I.M, i understand that you have a whole album to promote later, as it is the first one for you .. congrats in advance, but I ask you and @STARSHIPent to delete the third picture which has Islamic written phrase that can’t be used in aesthetical purposes, thank you so much! [sic]’.
Monsta X debuted in 2015 and have seen huge success since.
They released their third studio album in November last year, and have had various members working on solo projects, including I.M and Wonho after he left the group.
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