On April 15, a topic titled “ZB1 got into a controversy again” was published on the Korean forum Pann Nate, drawing massive attention.
According to the author of this topic, ZB1’s Ricky can be seen making a hand gesture similar to fingering at the airport, leading to criticisms about being vulgar in public.
In particular, while fans defend the male idol, many netizens insisted that Ricky was having vulgar intentions behind his hand gesture, citing the members and Ricky’s surprised reactions when they were caught on camera.
“Stop shielding him by saying this isn’t fingering, when he spotted the camera, he pretended to be doing something else. The members nearby also made a shock express..”, one in particular said.
However, according to fans of ZB1, Ricky’s hand gesture is the “bitna” gesture – which is taken from the choreography for “Here I Am” – a song from survival show “Boys Planet”, which ZB1 debuted from. The “bitna” gesture has become a sort of inside joke among ZB1 members.
Additionally, ZB1’s Gyuvin has since appeared on the fan communication Bubble to explain that “bitna” gesture, subtly explaining the situation.
It was also revealed that Ricky later did the gesture again while on camera, so this couldn’t have been something vulgar.
The topic accusing Ricky of being vulgar has also been deleted.
Source: K14, X, Pann Nate