aespa Karina Bursts into Laughter After Onstage Slip Amid Ongoing Political Controversy
On May 28, the 2nd Asia Star Entertainer Awards (ASEA) 2025 was held at the K-Arena in Yokohama, Japan, celebrating the biggest names in Asian entertainment. Hosted by THE BOYZ’s Juyeon and IVE’s Rei, the star-studded event saw aespa take home one of the night’s most prestigious honors — The Platinum Award.
As the members stepped on stage to accept the award, Karina began her speech with heartfelt gratitude.
“We’re so grateful to receive such a meaningful award. We worked hard on our albums last year, and we’ll be back with another great album this year, so please look forward to it.”
However, as she continued, Karina accidentally mispronounced “aespa” as “aespo,” causing her to break into uncontrollable laughter mid-sentence. Covering her mouth, she struggled to finish her remarks, prompting Winter to step in. But even Winter couldn’t hold back her giggles, saying through laughter,
“Please support aespa… a lot.”
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The moment turned even more endearing as the two members hugged on stage, trying to regain composure while fans and fellow artists looked on with amused smiles. Ultimately, Ningning took the lead to wrap up the speech smoothly, saying,
“Please continue to love aespa. Arigato gozaimasu!”
Despite the slip-up, the group’s playful sincerity only added to the charm of the moment, leaving fans delighted by their candid reactions.
Notably, Karina appeared cheerful and composed throughout the ceremony, even as she continues to face public scrutiny following a recent political controversy involving one of her social media posts. Her professionalism and positivity on stage did not go unnoticed by attendees and fans alike.