“Big 4” Boy Group Idol Accidentally Comes Out After Misunderstanding Fan Question

The clip has quickly gone viral.

SHINee‘s Onew unintentionally “came out” as straight during a recent fan event, and it happened due to a simple misunderstanding.

| SM Entertainment

During his recent fancon, Onew takes part in a segment where he answers questions submitted by fans attending the event. One of the questions he picked was “What are 3 conditions for [an Onew fan]’s boyfriend, according to Onew?”

| Dispatch

The SHINee star seemingly misread the question as “What are 3 conditions for Onew’s boyfriend?” and the idol subsequently came out as straight, saying he is someone who needs a girlfriend.

260418 ONEW FANMEETING [TOUGH LOVE] in Hong Kong
질문 오해로 인한 진기씨 남자친구(?)의 조건 3가지…
혹시 우정을 기반으로 한 남자친구가 되고 싶다면 참고하세요 🤔#온유 #ONEW #TOUGH_LOVE pic.twitter.com/fY3Vymedik

— 진기연구소🐰🥕 (@mokichoiae) April 18, 2026

Well I wouldn’t have a boyfriend… I may be quite open-minded, but I’m someone who needs a girlfriend. But if I were to [answer this question] about a boy who is a friend, I would say we need a lot of time to talk… and we would need to be able to empathize with one another… and being considerate of one another. Stuff like that… How do I put this? Wouldn’t such thoughtfulness be essential for that matter?

— SHINee’s Onew

He caught himself mid-answer and pivoted, but the damage — if you can call it that — was already done. Fans found the whole thing hilarious!

He said, shoutout to the gays but i am not one of em, love yall tho https://t.co/5kV8JH61eh

— mira. (@hithisismira) April 21, 2026

not jinki ✨️delicately✨️ coming out as straight because he didn't want to hurt his fanboys' feelings, i'm crying. https://t.co/bcAZlpFDKj

— 🖱🪽 (@iS2semetery) April 21, 2026

Onew didn't have the come out as straight. We already knew he was the sexual minority in SHINee. The fruitfly fluttering around a bowl of fruit. https://t.co/87eABlPYYy

— Jody (@jodybackagain) April 21, 2026

Accidental or not, it’s very on-brand for Onew to accidentally come out as straight due to a funny misunderstanding.