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“This is no different than a live kiss of life” – Curtis’ Christmas clip sparks debate among fans over cultural appropriation over alleged gang signs

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📂 Category: K-Pop

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On December 24, Curtis shared a Christmas-themed video on TikTok. The clip shows the members in street clothes. Meanwhile, the holiday path, It’s starting to look a lot like Christmas By Michael Buble plays in the background. So, while the idea itself generated little interest, some moments did draw criticism. Near the beginning, Martin is seen using hand gestures.

As a result, some netizens claimed that the movements resembled signals associated with the Crips. It is worth noting that the Crips are an American street gang associated with violent crimes and drug activities. For this reason, critics argued that the video borrowed from street culture without understanding its true weight. Some went further and accused the group of treating black identity as an aesthetic. Many compare the situation to that of KISS OF LIFE. The Quartet faced backlash for similar reasons.

“You really have to debut in hybe to get away with it all because this is no different than the kiss of life that ruined their career…” one X user commented.

Netizens say there is no excuse for this behavior.

Being in a boy group is so much fun because you have black Curtis fans who defend this and avoid the term ‘racism’ by saying they don’t make exaggerated racial stereotypes.

Man, I don’t like Tarzan but how can he be bullied when they’re not?!! There is no justification for this behavior! Throwing gang signs, obnoxious sagging pants and general nigger behavior is disgusting! Whenever you guys excuse this behavior! The worse it gets! 😒

They’ve been trained and fed the “hip-hop” image of their debut, it’s not their true personality at all. Just look at how they were before their debut and you can tell. Cultural appropriation, street fashion. But of course they will be forgiven anyway, because they are men haha. Poor Cove

Meanwhile, others responded to the criticism, saying they were just having fun. Many also pointed out that similar movements are common in Internet trends among teens.

These are teenagers acting like any other teenagers on the internet, why would we come to what Cove did???

Linking everything to black people is an attempt to try to hurt yourself at every possible point brother, calm down and stop imposing hate

I don’t see anything to make fun of this, just kids having fun. What do you mean? Even black people have no problem with this.

CORTIS concludes its rookie year with global impact

Curtis concludes the year with increased interest from the US music market. Their first album, color outside the lines, Ranked fourth in international albums. Notably, the record remained on the chart for fifteen consecutive weeks. At the same time, it reached the thirty-fifth position on the current album sales chart.

Curtis (Image via X/@cortis_bighit)Curtis (Image via X/@cortis_bighit)
Curtis (Image via X/@cortis_bighit)

Meanwhile, the introductory track He goes! It ranked second on the list of the 25 Best K-Pop Songs of 2025. According to Billboard, the track leaves a lasting impact after one listen. as a result of, He goes! It entered the Global 200 chart for two consecutive weeks in late September and early October.

Outside the United States, British outlet Dazed listed the song among the best K-pop songs of 2025. Likewise, NME, Apple Music, and Spotify included it in their year-end picks. Additionally, Teen Vogue named the debut album among the best non-English releases of 2025.

As the end of the year approaches, CORTIS will perform at major music festivals. These include SBS Gayo Daejeon, Japan’s World Music Bank Festival, and MBC Gayo Daejeon. Shortly before that, they will appear on Nippon TV’s annual music broadcast. Looking to the future, the band will open the NBA Crossover Concert Series during the 2026 All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles.