Recently, aespa Winter‘s Bubble messages to fans garnered much attention online.
In the messages, she sent a variety of photos, showcasing her beauty.
She looked like a total winter princess!
However, her message that came after the photos sparked a huge debate online.
To. ice.
While Winter was referring to her Chinese fanbase, ICE, some felt that the name needed to be changed as it made it sound like she was talking about ICE (United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement).
that fanbase name needs to be changed im sorry https://t.co/Q5zflBNxvZ pic.twitter.com/bW0k2Dy2mz
— glamrock neo ྀི YUJU P01 (@hiyyeonie) January 11, 2026
winter just casually deporting herself voluntarily https://t.co/SSoKmEDUk9 pic.twitter.com/kqFuzsEc3M
— ji 🐺 (@runnerzchans) January 11, 2026
Can the Chinese fanbase look for a new name this kinda scared me for a moment https://t.co/YsW9wIGuPs
— Val (@valnaitnegs) January 11, 2026
However, others defended Winter and the fanbase, stating that not everything revolves around the U.S.
“that fandom name needs to change” the entire world does not revolve around america and whatever issues they have. leave winter alone the fandom name is perfectly fine. https://t.co/C95nppLdve
— ningtheactivist (@ningtheactivist) January 11, 2026
fuck americans why the hell should a KOREAN idol named Winter change the name of her CHINESE fandom just because you want them to? the world doesn’t revolve around you so stfu https://t.co/QuekfDGgST
— 𝑬 (@mesrevaeries) January 11, 2026
quotes are pissing me off 😭 it’s a chinese fanbase for a korean idol, not everything is about YOU https://t.co/5clHPJYAyN
— ☆ (@saelorkwangya) January 11, 2026