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At the ‘2022 New York Fashion Week’, NCT’s Jeno made his stunning runway debut, impressing both netizens and celebrity attendees.

Amongst the many highly regarded attendees that took pictures with Jeno during the week, one was German photographer Ellen von Unwerth, who posted a selfie with the NCT member onto her Instagram story. However, fans were quick to notice something amiss within her post, as her caption, “So excited to meet a member of @bts.bighitofficial,” and mistook Jeno for being a BTS member.

Whilst some netizens suggested it was simply a mistake, many took to social media to express their frustration, believing that the photographer should have known exactly who she was taking a photo with and was ultimately perpetuating the racist stereotype that assumed all Asian people looked the same.

Netizens commented:

“Not every Korean man is from BTS, you know?”

“Why did she even take a picture with him when she didn’t know who he was??”

“You should be careful what you post on the internet.”

“So all Asians look the same now?”

“Was going to give her the benefit of the doubt, but…”

“This is just straight up racist.”

"Lee Jeno is from NCT, not BTS!!!"

With the bombardment of backlash she received, Ellen quickly apologized and reposted the Instagram story with the correct tag.

Whether an accident or not, many netizens continue to express their frustration in her Instagram comment section, criticizing the incident to be a continuation of some Western celebrities' mistreatment of K-pop idols.