Julie, Natty, Belle and Haneul of Kiss of Life are apologizing to fans after a recent live stream drew backlash.

The four-piece K-pop group went live on YouTube for Julie’s 25th birthday on April 2 with a theme of “old-school hip hop vibes,” dressed in attire stereotypically associated with the genre and spoke using accents, garnering criticism from fans who felt they made a “mockery” of Black culture. Days later, the members issued a lengthy apology.

During the stream, which has since been deleted and re-uploaded by fans, Kiss of Life wore oversized chains, snapback hats, cornrows and large hoop earrings. Some of the members were introduced with nicknames, including Belle (who wore makeup associated with Latina stereotypes) as Lil Taco Belle, Natty as NT and Haneul as Bob Sky.

They also lip-synced to 50 Cent’s “In Da Club” on the broadcast and displayed a photo of three Black men as inspiration for their outfits. Many fans were not impressed with the live stream, as one viral X post read, “I’m sorry kiss of life are neither uneducated nor ignorant. They knew exactly what they were doing and just didn’t care.”

Another fan referred to the group’s actions on the live stream as “modern day blackface and cultural mockery.”

“Dressing up as Black people like we’re Halloween costumes, while indulging in exaggerated stereotypes? This wasn’t accidental. They sat down, planned this, and got dressed,” continued the post.

Kiss of Life took to social media on April 5 with a handwritten apology addressed to their fans, known as “Kissys.”

“We really want to sincerely apologize for the content that was uploaded that caused so much disappointment to our fans,” wrote the group. “We have to seem calm on the outside, but the time leading up to this letter has honestly been hard. Although we wanted to and should’ve addressed this sooner. We are taking the first opportunity to address it now.”

Julie, Natty, Belle and Haneul continued, “We are sorry. Our intention was to show how much we loved the category of old school hip hop because it greatly influences our music. While shooting the content, we ended up taking the concept too far. We realize now that our content was culturally insensitive and take full responsibility for our actions and can only promise to do better.”

Since the live stream, the group said they spent days “learning and reflecting how our actions have disappointed many” of their fans.

“We know that there is nothing we can say or do that will magically fix the mistake we made. The only thing that we can promise is that we’ll continue to educate ourselves and show our sincerity through our actions rather than words,” read the note.

“We truly regret the choices we made and are genuinely sorry for any pain and distress we have caused our fans. This situation has been a valuable learning experience for us,” added Kiss of Life. “Our Kissys support means the world to us and we will continue to honor you all in every way possible.”

Kiss of Life is currently in the midst of an Asian tour with shows scheduled through May 2.