Fans say NMIXX’s introduction hand gesture is a rip-off of ITZY’s and demand JYP to change it 

ITZY’s fans are angry at JYP after seeing rookie girl group NMIXX’s greeting hand sign. 

NMIXX has gotten into another plagiarism accusation, but this time it is directly from the fandom of their senior labelmate, ITZY. ITZY’s fans are voicing their displeasure after seeing a photo of NMIXX taken at the group’s debut press conference, because NMIXX’s introduction hand gesture is too similar to ITZY‘s. ITZY‘s hand sign is horizontal to form the letter “Z“, and NMIXX’s one is identical, except that it is vertical to form the letter “N“.

Some netizens claim ITZY fans are overreacting. However, MIDZYs say ITZY’s hand sign is not simply a greeting gesture but carries a symbolic meaning to both the group and fans. Ryujin came up with it and it represents ITZY’s brand and identity. 

Therefore, MIDZYs find it unacceptable that JYP took Ryujin’s idea and modified ITZY‘s hand sign to use for NMIXX. Although they are artists under the same company, and there are no legal copyrights of hand gestures, this still shows how uncreative and unprofessional JYP is. This not only makes MIDZY angry, but also negatively affects NMIXX. Many fans think that JYP is biased towards their rookie girl group and disrespecting ITZY.

Currently, ITZY‘s fans are trending the hashtags #JYPESQU4D_RESPECT_ITZY to request SQU4D (the management department of NMIXX) to fix the group’s hand sign. MIDZYs are not attacking NMIXX but are only blaming the company. This is not the first time JYP was responsible for causing controversy for its own artists and disappointed the fans.