HYBE’s rookie girl group ILLIT has landed in another plagiarism controversy, this time for their latest music video, “jellyous.” Independent artist Lauzza has called out the group for allegedly copying elements from his recent single “YT – Panda (Nananana),” released on April 11, 2025.
“jellyous” is an upbeat track from their 3rd mini-album, ‘bomb,’ released on June 16, 2025. While the album was dropped last month, the music video for “jellyous” was released on July 7, 2025.
Lauzza Accuses ILLIT of Copying His Work
On July 11, Lauzza called out the similarities in a now-viral post on X with nearly 8 million impressions. He shared screenshots of the two MVs and pointed out that although both he and the group are inspired by old-school video game visuals, the “jellyous” MV seemed too close to his work for comfort.
If I speak I am in big trouble
Yoo, I’m aware old videogames are both of our current styles and is a bit of a trend itself. As you guys have pointed out, I’ve made jokes about referencing Nintendo before.
Their CD follows us, these shots here are similar, thought it was funny, wanted to point it out and move on.
Lauzza
ILLIT’s new music video includes nods to games like GTA, Super Mario, horror titles, Just Dance, Brain Age, StreetPass Mii Plaza, and The Sims. Fans pointed out that the overall settings and especially the outro scene looked strikingly similar to Lauzza’s work.
Netizens Reaction
Some netizens are calling out the group for copying Lauzza’s concept, while others believe the similarities are purely coincidental. These kinds of retro gaming themes are common in music videos. They also argue that Lauzza’s video came out in April, and ILLIT’s MV was released in July and was probably filmed months in advance.
“You both referenced Nintendo, but the difference is ILLIT referenced a million other games… I hope it was worth the guilty conscious knowing you started and helped in another hate train directed at innocent people,” one fan wrote.
Another one commented, “Not tryna be rude, but your MV was (released) two months ago, how will they have time to copy you?”
This is Not the First Time ILLIT Has Faced Plagiarism Issues
This isn’t the first time ILLIT has faced accusations of copying. Since their debut, the group has been under fire, most famously from ex-ADOR CEO Min Hee Jin, who accused HYBE’s sub-label Belift Lab of borrowing heavily from NewJeans. She accused the label of copying major elements of NewJeans’ branding to shape ILLIT’s image.
At the time of their debut, Critics pointed out similarities between the choreography of ILLIT’s “Magnetic” and NewJeans’ “Ditto,” though Belift has argued that such overlaps are common in K-pop dance.
They have firmly denied all claims and sued Min for defamation. The label put out comparison videos arguing that ILLIT’s concept was original and not borrowed from NewJeans.
Meanwhile, ILLIT will hold fanmeeting ‘GLITTER DAY’ in Yokohama on August 10-11 and in Osaka on September 3-4.