Rookie group 2Z is currently in hot water after fans questioned their use of George Floyd's voice sample in one of their songs. The group is currently being accused of capitalizing on Black Lives Matter movement to gain attention from the public.
According to a report by All Kpop, 2Z initially drew praise for vocally supporting the Black Lives Matter movement on Twitter. As a group, the members denounced racism and violence and supported peace.
However, one of their members, Hyunwoong, recently posted a new song on his social media account which contained the actual voice sample from George Floyd, the black American who died after a white police officer leaned on his neck for eight full minutes.
The famous voice sample, in which Floyd complained that he could not breathe, triggered the collective ire of netizens since these were his last words before he died.
Netizens who followed 2Z after their initial statement of support for the Black Lives Matter movement, unfollowed the group en masse and criticized the rookie group for using George Floyd's death to gain attention and fans.
They further accused the group of being insensitive since the audio clip triggered a lot of painful memories for the black community.
In response, Hyunwoong was quick to take down his post and take the blame for his mistake. He explained that in his attempt to express his support for the movement, he got too excited and made a mistake in the process. He said that he respected the black community but it was his fault that the voice sample was used in the first place. He said that he will willingly take the blame but it will be unfair for other members to be criticized for his mistake as well.
In their statement, 2Z's affiliate GOGO2020 also apologized for Hyunwoong's actions. They explained that Hyunwoong's post of his self made music on his personal SNS was not approved by the company and the other members. They said that although they were unaware of Hyunwoong's actions, they are still accepting part of the blame for their late reaction to the matter. They reiterated their apology to those who were hurt by their artist's actions.
2Z made their debut in January of this year under Morph Entertainment. They were initially promoted as a Kpop group with members with average height of 186 centimeters. The group is composed of five members - Hojin, Hyunwoong, Jiseop, Jeonghyun, and Bumjoon, All Kpop reported.
