Japanese YouTuber Gamix apologized after a parody of ATEEZ’s SAN used a racist eye-pulling gesture and drew heavy criticism.
August/25/2026 15:56
While parodying ATEEZ’s SAN’s dance, Japanese YouTuber Gamix caused an uproar by making an eye-pulling gesture, and has apologized for the controversy. He also apologized to SAN and his fans. YouTuber Gamix, who has 1.12 million subscribers, posted a video titled “I sincerely apologize” on his account yesterday (the 24th). Appearing in the video in a black suit, he sat in seiza and pressed his forehead to the floor, saying, “I sincerely apologize for the gesture I made,” and, “I apologize to ATEEZ’s SAN, the members, the fans, and the people of the Korean community who were hurt and made uncomfortable by it.” Previously, he had posted a dance challenge video for ATEEZ’s new song “BAD,” which has become a major topic on social media. After placing a photo of SAN on the screen, he pulled the outer corners of his eyes left and right with both hands. This action is a racist act that mocks the physical features of East Asians, and criticism poured in from K-pop fans and internet users. As the criticism flooded in, Gamix deleted the relevant video. Even after that, the criticism did not subside, and he posted an apology video. In the course of his explanation, he said, “I myself am Asian. I used that gesture as self-deprecating humor to belittle myself,” and confessed, “I had seen cases overseas where racist expressions were turned into humor, and I thought that if I, as an East Asian, caricatured this discriminatory gesture and processed it as humor, I might be able to soften the weight and discriminatory meaning of the act.” He continued, “I had absolutely no feelings of hatred or contempt toward SAN, the people of Korea, or the K-pop community,” and bowed his head again, saying, “Once again, I sincerely apologize to SAN and everyone who was hurt and made uncomfortable by my thoughtless actions.” ・ATEEZ’s SAN, people keep falling for his charm! The “fancam” of the new song “BAD” goes massively viral (with video) ・They appeared together on “Music Station”! ATEEZ’s SAN gets a reaction from the dance challenge video for “HOT LIMIT” with Takanori Nishikawa
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