*T/W: Sexual harassment. Reader discretion is advised.
A recent K-Pop dance cover has gone viral, but not for reasons one would expect.
404 Dance Crew, a K-pop dance cover group, was filming a video of themselves dancing to aespa’s “Next Level” in Times Square, New York City. In the public space, a man inconspicuously slid himself into the choreography before coming up behind one of the dancers, Yingqi.
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A video posted online shows the man watching the group perform from the sidelines before making his way closer towards them. Standing behind Yingqi, he thrust his pelvis towards her when she moved backwards, knocking her out of her dance routine. She attempted to continue dancing with the rest of her team but seemed visibly disturbed.
Members of the public who have seen the video voiced outrage over the man’s behaviour, with one user commenting:
“ARREST THIS MAN ?”
Another user said:
“nah this the type of predator behaviour that should not be [applauded]”
It has also since been revealed that Yingqi has requested Instagram account WhatIsNewYork (@whatisnewyork) — which had reposted the video of this incident — to delete or edit their caption “TikToking in Times Square #whatisnewyork” as she felt that it did not give justice to the real narrative. She also requested an apology.
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Yingqi took to her own Instagram account to speak up about the incident, touching on “Asian hate” while also advocating for the public to “not be guided by WRONG public opinion”. She also included footage of the man harassing her as caught on the crew’s camera.
“That man was wrong to do that.. shame on him,” said an Instagram user.
Another user called out the Instagram account WhatIsNewYork, saying:
“@whatisnewyork shame on you for posting [an] untrue caption to gain social media attention hurting ppl and creating more hate! You owe them an apology.”
Yingqi also left a comment asking fans to keep the peace, saying:
“Thank you guys for paying attention to the thing. But all I want is just an apology from whatisnewyork and a reason why he blocked my friends and me. Please do not quarrel and argue. Peace and love. No need to follow this account. Pay more attention to yourselves guys! Love you all!”
It’s 2021 and it seems like misogyny is still running rampant everywhere. As human beings, we need to work harder to expel this toxic mindset and work towards an equal, respective community.
P.S: You can check out the full video for the cover down below!
*Cover image via Instagram @whatisnewyork /@yingqi_zhou
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