Girl Gaga, left, and Bruno Mars settle for one of the best pop duo/group efficiency award for „Die With A Smile“ through the 67th annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, U.S., Sunday. AP-Yonhap
Korean cable tv channel Mnet is going through criticism for omitting a direct translation of pop star Girl Gaga’s remarks in help of the transgender neighborhood throughout its dwell broadcast of the 2025 Grammy Awards.
After successful the award for greatest pop duo/group efficiency alongside Bruno Mars, Gaga used her acceptance speech to precise help for the transgender neighborhood, stating, „Trans persons are not invisible. Trans folks deserve love. The queer neighborhood deserves to be lifted up.“
Nonetheless, throughout Mnet’s unique dwell broadcast, her remarks weren’t absolutely translated into Korean. As an alternative, the commentator summarized her assertion as „She requires range.“
For the reason that broadcast lacked an professional simultaneous interpreter providing a line-by-line translation and as an alternative featured a commentator summarizing key remarks in Korean, some viewers criticized the omission. They argued that this incident displays a broader sample in Korean media of downplaying or obscuring the visibility of LGBTQ+ points.
„There’s a clear conservative tendency in Korean media to keep away from delicate subjects, together with points associated to the transgender neighborhood,“ Kim Do-heon, a popular culture critic, stated.
Issues concerning the omission of LGBTQ+ content material have repeatedly emerged in Korean media, affecting tv dramas, stage performances and movie broadcasts.
In 2021, the Seoul Metropolitan Authorities confronted backlash for censoring LGBTQ+ references throughout its annual New Yr’s bell-ringing ceremony. In the course of the occasion, the Korean dance group Lachica carried out Girl Gaga’s „Born This Means,“ a tune extensively celebrated for its message of LGBTQ+ solidarity. Nonetheless, lyrics like „Regardless of homosexual, straight, or bi, lesbian, transgender life“ have been omitted from the printed.
The identical yr, a Korean tv community edited out a same-sex kiss scene whereas airing the movie, „Bohemian Rhapsody“ (2018). The channel defended the choice, citing compliance with the movie’s 15+ ranking. Nonetheless, critics argued that the edit successfully erased Freddie Mercury’s id as a member of the LGBTQ+ neighborhood.
Kim acknowledged the broader tendency in Korean media to keep away from LGBTQ+ subjects, however famous that the omission was not essentially the fault of the commentator decoding the printed this time.
„The dwell broadcast was not performed with a simultaneous interpreter translating each line in actual time. As an alternative, it adopted a format the place the commentator listened to the printed and supplied summarized interpretations and commentary, making exact translations troublesome,“ he stated.
„Nonetheless, it’s regrettable that the channel was not higher ready to offer context for Gaga’s remarks. This displays a broader reluctance in Korean media to brazenly focus on these subjects.“ Kim added.
Yi Ho-rim, an activist with Solidarity for LGBT Human Rights of Korea, additionally criticized the omission, emphasizing the importance of Gaga’s speech.
„Gaga’s remarks carry substantial political and social weight, notably given the present scenario within the U.S., the place efforts to erase transgender identities from public areas have intensified,“ she stated.
In his first week in workplace, U.S. President Donald Trump signed executive orders rolling again a number of range, fairness, inclusion and accessibility initiatives whereas reinstating restrictions on transgender people serving within the army.
„I consider that decoding overseas award ceremonies goes past simply translating the language or conveying cultural nuances,“ Yi stated. „A basic understanding of social and political contexts is important to interpret and clarify such remarks correctly.“
