NewJeans' Danielle Apologizes For Calling Lunar New Year "Chinese New Year"

NewJeans’ Danielle has apologized for referring to Lunar New Year as “Chinese New Year.”

On January 19, Danielle sent her fans a message on the fan communication platform Phoning in which she asked, “what r u bunnies [NewJeans’ fans] doing for Chinese new year?”

Danielle soon came under fire for her use of the phrase “Chinese New Year,” as Lunar New Year is a holiday celebrated by many countries across Asia, not just China. (Due to their limited knowledge of Asian culture, some Western countries refer to the holiday as “Chinese New Year,” even though it is not uniquely Chinese, which can be offensive to non-Chinese Asians who celebrate the holiday.)

While Danielle was born in Australia, fans noted that Hanni—who was also born and raised in Australia—referred to the holiday as “Lunar New Year” in her own Phoning messages.

On January 21, Danielle posted the following apology on Instagram:

Hello, this is NewJeans’ Danielle.

On Thursday, January 19, I sent a message on Phoning that read, “what r u bunnies doing for Chinese new year?” Although I deleted it as soon as I realized my mistake, my message had already been delivered to many people, and it became impossible to undo.

Because Lunar New Year is a holiday celebrated by many countries and regions, including our country [Korea], my choice of words was inappropriate, and I deeply regret it. I also want to say I’m truly sorry to the Bunnies and many other people who must have been disappointed or hurt by my words.

I will not forget this incident, and I will try to be more careful in my words and actions in the future.

Once again, I apologize.

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