BIGBANG’s Daesung Publicly Apologizes to 2NE1’s Minzy Over Variety Show Remark

BIGBANG’s Daesung has publicly apologized to 2NE1’s Minzy after a past variety show comment continued to draw attention among K-pop fans. The moment unfolded during a July 3 upload on Daesung’s YouTube channel ZIP DAESUNG, where he sat down with fellow former YG Entertainment artists Seven, Sandara Park, and Minzy for a candid conversation built around shared history, old stories, and the complicated humor of idol variety content.

The apology centered on Daesung’s earlier appearance on Psick University‘s Narak Quiz Show. During that program, he was asked to choose the least necessary member of 2NE1 and answered Minzy. The format of the show is known for putting guests in deliberately uncomfortable comic scenarios, but the answer was still criticized by fans who felt the joke landed too harshly, especially given Minzy’s place in one of K-pop’s most influential girl groups.

On ZIP DAESUNG, Daesung did not treat the issue as a throwaway gag. Looking toward Minzy, he said there was someone he sincerely wanted to apologize to, then addressed the earlier remark directly. The tone of the segment shifted from playful reunion to a more reflective exchange, with Daesung acknowledging that his answer had hurt feelings and that he regretted how the situation came across.

According to the source report, Daesung even knelt while apologizing, a gesture that quickly became the headline image of the exchange. He reportedly said he had not been in the right frame of mind during the earlier quiz-show appearance. The apology was framed less as a scripted statement and more as a direct conversation between two artists who had known each other through the same agency system during a defining era for YG Entertainment.

Why The Moment Drew Attention

The story resonated because BIGBANG and 2NE1 are not ordinary names in K-pop history. Both groups helped define YG’s global image in the late 2000s and early 2010s, and their members remain closely watched even when they appear in relaxed online content. A casual joke involving any member of either group can carry extra weight because fans still connect those artists to formative memories, group dynamics, and long-running debates about how idols are discussed in entertainment formats.

Minzy’s case is especially sensitive for many longtime listeners. As 2NE1’s youngest member, main dancer, and one of the group’s defining performance figures, she has often been recognized for carrying a level of skill beyond her age at debut. A remark that positioned her as expendable, even within a comedy setup, was therefore received by some fans as dismissive rather than merely awkward.

Daesung also brought up a separate memory from the early days of Minzy’s career. He mentioned that after her debut, she had been given the nickname “Female Daesung,” and said he had long felt sorry about it. That comment added another layer to the conversation, suggesting that the apology was not only about one variety-show answer but also about the kind of labels and comparisons young idols can inherit without choosing them.

Minzy’s response helped keep the exchange from becoming overly heavy. She said watching the earlier quiz-show moment had felt like being hit on the head, describing it as a weighty feeling. But she also answered with humor, joking that if asked to choose the most useless member of BIGBANG, she would pick Daesung. The room reportedly reacted with laughter, turning the apology into a moment of mutual acknowledgment rather than a one-sided statement.

A Public Apology In The Variety Era

The exchange points to a wider issue in Korean entertainment: jokes made for quick viral impact can linger long after a show moves on. Idol and celebrity content now travels through clips, reposts, translations, and fan edits, so a single answer in a pressure-game format can be reinterpreted across different audiences. That makes public follow-up moments more important, particularly when the people involved have enough shared history to address the issue face to face.

Daesung’s apology also shows how senior idols are navigating a different media environment from the one they debuted in. Earlier generations often relied on broadcast variety shows where context was controlled by the episode itself. Today, YouTube programs can be more intimate, but they are also more searchable and more easily clipped. A sincere correction, if handled well, can become part of the public record alongside the original controversy.

For fans of both groups, the appearance offered something beyond the apology itself: a rare reunion of artists connected to one of K-pop’s most recognizable label eras. Seven, Sandara Park, Minzy, and Daesung sharing a set naturally invited nostalgia, but the most discussed moment became a reminder that nostalgia does not erase uncomfortable comments. Instead, it can create the setting for those comments to be revisited with more honesty.

Neither Daesung nor Minzy framed the conversation as a major scandal, and Minzy’s quick-witted response gave the segment a lighter ending. Still, the apology stands out because it acknowledged that even variety-show humor can have consequences when it touches an artist’s dignity or legacy. In a fan culture that remembers nearly everything, the willingness to address a misstep directly may matter as much as the original joke.