Recently, Blake Kathryn, a Los Angeles-based visual artist posted two photos and wrote, ŌĆ£was sent this, def see an uncomfortable level of similarities with my work namely this.ŌĆØ One of the photos is her artwork, while the other is a capture from aespaŌĆÖs debut stage on SBSŌĆÖs Inkigayo. If you compare the two pictures, not only is the structure of aespaŌĆÖs stage similar to her work, but also trees in the graphic background show similar features. Blake Kathryn also wrote, ŌĆ£IŌĆÖd absolutely love to work alongside k-pop artists, established or new, this really cuts deep,ŌĆØ and ŌĆ£getting some uncomfortable DMs between here and ig, I will pursue this regardless. theft is theft, I donŌĆÖt blame the girls but mgmt must be held accountable esp when I am not the first artist to report plagiarism.ŌĆØ
ŌĆö blake kathryn (@blakekathryn) November 26, 2020
ŌĆö blake kathryn (@blakekathryn) November 27, 2020 Upon seeing the post, netizensŌĆÖ primary reaction was ŌĆ£SM did it again.ŌĆØ Others wrote, ŌĆ£This stage is only different in colors from her work,ŌĆØ ŌĆ£I mean, do they not have brains of their own?ŌĆØ ŌĆ£And yes, SM did it again,ŌĆØ and ŌĆ£IŌĆÖll bet you that this artist will soon say ŌĆśeverything has been settledŌĆÖ after SM ŌĆścompensatesŌĆÖ her with a bunch of money.ŌĆØ Earlier, aespa was embroiled in plagiarism with the ŌĆ£Black MambaŌĆØ music video. The artist, who first raised the suspicion, recently wrote that he and SM have ŌĆ£discussedŌĆØ the issue and that he ŌĆ£supportsŌĆØ aespa. Source (1)