NewJeans' agency denies allegations 'Cookie' has inappropriate lyrics

Girl group ″New Jeans″ [ADOR]

Rookie girl group NewJeans' agency ADOR released an extensive statement on Saturday denying claims that the lyrics of the group's song "Cookie" contain sexual innuendos.

"'Cookie' is consciously focused on the music [instead of the choreography] and the song revolves around the paired idea of burning CDs and baking cookies, which share the same conceptual verb in Korean," read the statement, emphasizing that 'cookie' does not have an underlying sexual meaning.

"The ADOR team didn’t take any issue with the lyrics to 'Cookie' when we were making the album because our vision for original and wholesome music was crystal clear to us," the statement continued, "Slang terms aren’t taught in school and not everyone is familiar with them. It’s impossible for people to be familiar with every idiom and offensive term out there and predicting their reception around the world is an even more challenging task."

"Cookie" is one of three lead tracks on the girl group's debut EP "NewJeans" which was released on Aug.1.

The song is under scrutiny for its lyrics which people online have interpreted as "sexually suggestive" and "inappropriate for underage minors to sing."

Part of the chorus sings, "The cookie that I made. Come and take a lookie. It's only at my house so come over. I can bake it anytime."

Some of the top comments for the music video of "Cookie" on YouTube read "I can’t listen to this song and ignore the context of the lyrics," and "They should’ve held onto this song for at least another three years before letting them all sing and dance to it."

In July, NewJeans faced similar backlash even before its debut as members Hanni and Hye-in, aged 17 and 14, showcased cropped, strapless tops in footage of the group’s music video for the song “Attention,” which some said were inappropriate for such young singers to be wearing.

More backlash arose after another member, Min-ji, 18, uploaded a selfie wearing a cropped shirt with the phrase “Pimp is Yours.” Pimp, a slang from the United States trending between the 1970s and 80s, can mean to make something more showy or impressive, but can also mean a man who controls prostitutes.

The five members — Hanni, Minji, Danielle, Haerin and Hyein — are aged between 14 and 18 and all considered minors under Korean law.

BY LEE JIAN [lee.jian@joongang.co.kr]