Fans mad with Rain
for wearing shirt that is 'gross, cheap, rude, vulgar', but other fans say...
By Chang May Choon
December 21, 2007
FROM the front, K-pop hunk Rain looked as he usually does - broad-shouldered and well-muscled, filling out a snug, plain long-sleeved whiteT-shirt.
Seen in an Internet screen capture striding to a helicopter that would take him from Hong Kong to Macau, Rain is clad in a T-shirt that seems plain in front, but shows an imprint of a woman's bare breasts on the back.
But when he turned his back, it was a different story.
Shocking. Vulgar. Rude.
And worse, disrespectful of women, who make up a huge percentage of hisfans.
These irate comments refer to his latest wardrobe malfunction - a 'scandalous shirt' whose back blatantly displayed a print of a woman's bare breasts, draped over a rock guitar.
The 25-year-old singer-actor was seen in the shirt two weeks ago, striding towards a helicopter that would take him from HongKong to Macau to receive the Asian Male Star Of The Year trophy at the CineAsia Film Awards.
An entertainment news programme on Seoul Broadcasting System released the footage of Rain's breast-baring shirt.
The clip has since made its way to YouTube.
But tongues only started wagging furiously online this week - after photos of the offending shirt were circulated widely on K-pop forums.
Rain's shirt, seen from the front in a screen grab, looks decent.
A posting on K-popped.com on Monday said that some fans were 'outraged' and 'offended' by Rain's 'scandalous shirt'.
A netizen, Giddy Bloom, felt that 'it just reeks of cheapness', while Anon said it was 'rude and vulgar'.
Over at Popseoul.com, 179 of 251 netizens said in a poll that the 'lady lumps' on Rain's shirt are 'gross' and that he 'should have better taste'. Other comments included criticism that the shirt was idiotic and disgusting.
Raye, a fan, wrote: 'I was very angry he wore this shirt. I mean, it's so disgusting...
'I chalk it up to Bi (Rain's Korean name) being human and stupid. So I forgive him. But he can't disrespect women ever like this again.'
Soju agreed that the shirt was 'an exploitation of women because, by putting it into a publicly graphic image, it trivialises females'.
Aquarious, who also does not like the shirt, wrote that Rain 'should be careful what he does or says because all eyes are on him'.
Even on the RainSingapore.com forum, some fans expressed shock at their idol's poor fashion statement.
CelineQ wrote: 'ALAMAK! If he wears this to certain countries he might get arrested for indecent exposure.'
Other fans, however, didn't think it was such a bad thing.
Singaporean Stephanie Loh, 34, from the RainSingapore fan club, felt it was a 'refreshing change' from Rain's usual wardrobe.
'It's quite interesting for him to wear something so daring,' she told The New Paper. 'Usually he's so prim and proper, so this shows a different side of him. It's just a T-shirt, we don't think it's lewd.'
Netizen Orchid, who first posted Rain's photos on K-popped.com, also felt that the shirt was 'fun in an attention-grabbing kind of way'.
Ladida added on the same forum that she felt the fan outrage was blown out of proportion.
'He's a public role model; he did things against his better judgment. So he deserves a slap on the wrist. But the extreme outrage over the graphic tee - which, in my opinion, isn't really all that raunchy - is overly dramatic.'
SHOCKING
Another fan who calls herself Mrs Jung noted on RainSingapore.com that her idol seems to like 'shocking outfits'.
She cited examples of how he wore T-shirts with the words 'Available for a Quickie' and 'I'm the reason girls gone wild' when he visited China in September.
This is also the second time in a month that Rain has drawn flak for his fashion sense.
In late November, he was accused of 'dressing like a caveman' by animal rights group Peta (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Asia Pacific).
Peta took offence at Rain donning fur and wrote him a letter to stop ripping off animal skin.
So far, neither Rain nor his agency has commented on his shirt. He reportedly flew to Los Angeles from Macau.
Source:http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/show/story/0,4136,151225,00.html
