aespa Faces Backlash Over Unedited Photos Highlighting “Aging Visuals”
aespa is facing backlash after a viral post criticized the group’s appearance in recent press photos.
The controversy began when a post on a Korean forum shared close-up solo shots of aespa members from the press conference for their upcoming film Lemonade. Unlike heavily edited fansite pictures, these photos showed the members’ faces with minimal retouching.
The original poster slammed the group, saying:
They all look like grandmas… Well, I guess they’re old ladies for idols. “Lemonade” doesn’t suit them at all. It’s way too sour and gives off a stale, washed-up vibe.
If you’re 27, you’re basically an ajumma (middle-aged woman) in real life anyway;;;;.
Fans quickly reacted and defended aespa against the harsh comments. Many pointed out that the members are still in their early-to-mid twenties and have already achieved huge success at a young age. Others said the post revealed more about the original poster’s attitude than aespa’s appearance.
One fan wrote:
“Reading this post, it really hits me again how insanely young they all are. They’ve already achieved so much, and they’re still people born in 2000 and 2002. Is that for real?”
Another added:
“They’re still only 23–26 years old. I’m jealous.”
Other comments included:
“Even if you turned back time so that you were 15 years younger than you are now, and they were all 15 years older than they are in those photos, they’d still be living more valuable lives than you. LOL.”
“They’re still ridiculously young… I’m jealous.”
“Even if I could trade my current age, I’d still choose to be Karina.”
As the situation unfolded, netizens continued to stand up for aespa, rejecting the extreme hate and praising the group’s youth and achievements.