Ateez's Choi San mocked with racist 'eye-pulling' gesture during 'BAD' challenge video

Japanese influencer Gamix, who has more than 2 million followers, has sparked a racism controversy after pulling his eyes into a slant while mimicking Ateez member Choi San in a viral challenge video.

Gamix posted a video Thursday on his social media accounts showing himself performing the "BAD" dance challenge — a routine based on Choi San's choreography from the Ateez song that has recently gone viral.

Midway through the video, Gamix abruptly stopped imitating the dance moves and expressions and used both hands to stretch the outer corners of his eyes sideways — a gesture widely known as the "eye-pulling" or "slant-eye" motion.

The gesture has long been recognized as a racist caricature mocking the appearance of East Asians. It has drawn repeated condemnation in sports contexts in particular. At a South Korea-Czech Republic match during the North and Central America World Cup in June, a spectator performed the same gesture and faced international backlash; FIFA subsequently banned the individual from entering stadiums.

Critics noted that Gamix, whose content focuses primarily on soccer, could not have been unaware of the gesture's meaning and sensitivity. Online commenters reacted with outrage. "It's incomprehensible that someone from the same part of Asia would do something like that," one user wrote, while another said, "It's absurd that a Japanese person would make a gesture that can be interpreted as racist toward a Korean."

As the controversy spread, Gamix deleted the video without issuing an apology. He then posted a follow-up clip in which he pointed to his own puffy eyes and said, "These are Asian eyes," adding, "My eyes don't open every morning. Why does this happen every morning?" Critics argued that the follow-up clip extended the same racist stereotype by continuing to mock the appearance of East Asian eyes.

Born in 2007, Gamix is a Japanese influencer known for soccer-focused content who currently has about 2.16 million followers. He drew attention during the recent North and Central America World Cup when a video of him breaking down in tears among Brazilian fans while watching Japan lose went viral.