Aespa’s Winter Criticized for Lackluster Dance Moves During Contentious Tour

aespa’s Winter is facing backlash over her performance energy caught on video during the group’s recent tour.

The clip, showing Winter dancing to “Illusion” on the SYNK: aeXIS LINE tour, went viral on X (formerly Twitter). It already has over 7.5 million views and more than 25,000 likes.

Fans and netizens slammed Winter for what they say looks like a lazy, low-effort dance. The original tweet mocking her reads:

“I can make tens of billions even doing it like this~”
— @543SAk9wqK35143 on X

Critics piled on fast.

“But seriously, what’s wrong with her?
If she doesn’t want to perform, she should just leave the group and let another trainee take her spot.”
— @z647298 on X

Others accused her of not caring and blamed her for fans calling aespa concerts boring.

“Ah fuck, my stomach hurts so bad. She dances like that and makes tens of billions?
Sigh… I can understand dancing like that if you’re hurt, but doing that when you’re not even hurt, lol. Dancing like that is exactly why people say aespa’s concerts aren’t fun.”
— @mysfgjyuio on X

But plenty of fans pushed back hard.

They called the hate “misogyny,” praised Winter’s strong vocals, and said people only complain because they keep supporting idols financially.

“They make tens of billions because you guys spend money on them. If that bothers you, then don’t spend.
You pour money into every possible kind of consumption, so why are you freaking out because they make tens of billions?”
— @oiuyere on X

“No but why are you freaking out at Winter? She didn’t even do anything. You guys who are taking this out of context, making a hate-filled quote tweet out of a clip that doesn’t match the context, and then getting all emotional are worse. Winter works hard at concerts, belting out high notes and putting everything into her facial expressions, so don’t judge her based on those few seconds. It feels shitty as a fan watching this, so if you’ve left the fandom, please just quietly stop paying attention.”
— @Pho99804632 on X

The controversy comes right after SM Entertainment faced backlash over aespa’s intense schedule, including Winter’s recent absence from some events.

See the viral clip below:

Watch the full story on aespa’s concert drama here:

More fan reactions: