An Official Statement from ADOR Regarding NewJeans ‘Sexual Connotations’ in “Cookie” Lyrics

There are many controversies around Min Hee Jin and her new Kpop girl group, NewJeans. However, following the controversy of the group’s track “Cookie” lyrics, ADOR, the agency of NewJeans, finally released an official statement.

ADOR Released an Official Statement about “Cookie” lyrics alleged sexual connotations

On August 27, the agency of NewJeans, ADOR, released an official statement regarding the ‘suxual connotations’ allegation in their “Cookie” lyrics. Read a part of the statement below:

Hello. This is ADOR.

Thank you so much for all your interest and sending love to New Jeans since their debut on July 22. To show appreciation for all your support, we added an additional week to the group’s promotions, and we are approaching the end of NewJeans’ promotion period for their first EP album. Although their promotions are coming to an end, NewJeans will be opening their official Twitter account soon, to communicate with fans, and will also be releasing new photos, videos, magazine photoshoots, and more. We thank you for your continued support and we hope that you look forward to their second album.

The support they have been receiving has been incredibly uplifting for the NewJeans members and staff members at ADOR. Thus, we feel more apologetic for the controversy surrounding the lyrics of “Cookie”, one of the triple title tracks [of their album]. We would also like to apologize to those who felt uncomfortable and concerned due to the song being interpreted differently from what we expected. As such, we would like to clarify the controversy over lyrics…

“Cookie”, as we explained before the official release, is a song that was made for fans who waited a long time for NewJeans, and it shows the confidence in their musical direction. Thus, it was released last as one of the triple title tracks. There is an existing narrative behind the composition of the album ‘NewJeans’, in the order of “Attention”, “Hype Boy”, “Cookie”, and “Hurt”. Although it is open to interpretations, the original intention according to our plan was based on the relationship between ‘suppliers and consumers’ and ‘artists and fans’, and the messages we want to deliver are hidden within each track…
Two of the lyricists who worked on “Cookie” are Korean-Swedish women in their thirties, whose first language is English. The translator is a bilingual woman whose native language is English and Korean. The production team’s intentions were clear, and everyone was startled by the current controversy as nobody had any suspicions regarding the lyrics’ intentions. It’s true that although NewJeans are at similar age ranges with other high teen groups (19, 19, 18, 17, 15 years old), they are viewed as an exceptionally young team. We also considered the fact that [NewJeans] may have been framed in such a way due to the stereotype that ‘they will have passive attitudes because of their young age’…
To those who have the attitude of ‘the answer is already set’, our long explanation is meaningless. Thus, we worry whether we can avoid malicious interpretations even if we try our best. This is because depending on how it is interpreted, even healthy things can be seen as not [healthy]. We think the most important point in interpretations is the context of the case. So please make sure to check the context…
Based on the context, intention, and our sincerity, we hope we can clear up any unnecessary suspicions, and that you can enjoy our contents which we worked hard to prepare with genuine hearts.
Thank you.”

NewJeans “Cookie” Alleged Sexual Connotations

Soon after NewJeans released “Cookie,” a professional English-to-Korean translator uploaded a YouTube video, saying that the ADOR new girl group’s track “Cookie” lyrics contains “overtly sexual connotations.”

Kim Tae Hoon, the translator, said, “NewJeans’ ‘Cookie’ was the last song that was revealed. At first, my reaction was, ‘Oh, it’s good too!’. But the more I listened to it, I went, ‘Oh, no’. A few more listens, and that turned into ‘Hell, no!'”

The translator concerned “Cookie” is sung by minors

The translator continued, “I debated over whether I should talk about this issue or not. Since this group is comprised entirely of minors, who undoubtedly poured incredible amounts of hard work and effort to debut. The fact that a group like this is involved in this controversy in itself is ugly and unfortunate. And so I was worried that if I addressed the issue, then it would only add fuel to the fire. But ultimately, I decided to make this video in the hopes that in the future, companies would be more cautious when dealing with the lyrics of a song sung by minors.”

In the video, Kim Tae Hoon also talked about BLACKPINK’s “Ice Cream,” which he is sure to contain several sexual references. However, in this case, NewJeans members are known to be all minors.

It becomes worse when netizens accuse the CEO of ADOR glamorizing pedophilia because of what she posted on her Instagram.

What does “Cookie” mean

He also added, “Many people have been debating furiously over the ‘meaning’ of the word ‘Cookie’ in this song. But I am going to say it straight out. Here, ‘cookie’ represents the female genital. This is just fact. Those of you who argue that this is not true, you are blinding only yourself. The company seemingly told the members to say, ‘We created this album as if we were baking cookies full of love’. This is just BS.”

Moreover, from NewJeans “Cookie” lyrics, he also claimed, “One of the biggest giveaways in this song is that ‘Cookie’ is singular, not plural. Say you baked some cookies. Would you say, ‘Look at my cookie?’”

Check out the full video here:

Do you think NewJeans “Cookie” lyrics contains ‘overtly sexual connotations’ as said by the translator? Or you believe that NewJeans and ADOR simply make the song for fans? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section below and follow our Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Telegram channel.

More to read about Kpop & Kdrama:

What's your thoughts?