“That’s really weird” — EXO’s Kai faces internet backlash for allegedly kissing Baby Yi-jin on the mouth during his appearance on 'Call Me Baby'

Recently, EXO's Kai has been under fire for allegedly kissing Baby Yi-jin during his apperance on the babysitting variety show, Call Me Baby by Studio Slam. The idol attended the show along with his bandmate, Sehun, and the two spent their day playing and taking care of Baby Yi-jin, a kids' model and influencer.

Towards the end of the episode, as the two EXO members were bidding farewell with Baby Yi-jin, Kai asked for a kiss from Yi-jin as a goodbye. As a response, the child kissed him on the lips, which shocked both the EXO bandmates and the show's staff members.

The staff also revealed that he hasn't kissed anyone else on the mouth before. However, what the idol stated after the kiss garnered more attention and backlash:

"He kissed me on the lips. He's so good at that."

Regardless, after this clip landed on the internet, many fans and netizens were displeased with the interaction and stated that it was inappropriate. Some netizens also brought up past instances where the idol was seen kissing children on the mouth, thereby leading to p*dophilic allegations against him.

However, many fans defended the idol by stating that it's commonly practiced in the Korean culture to kiss babies or children on the mouth as a form of showing affection and love. Regardless, netizens still felt that Kai's behavior was inappropriate and expressed that one shouldn't kiss a baby or a kid on their mouth, unless it's their child. Here are a few fan reactions regarding the same:

"that's really weird" said a fan

More fans and netizens expressed their displeasure regarding EXO's Kai allegedly kissing Baby Yi-jin on the mouth.

Others also shared their thoughts and opinions about the same.

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All you need to know about EXO's Kai and his solo activities

EXO's Kai, also known as Kim Jong-in, is a South Korean singer, actor, and dancer who made his debut under SM Entertainment in 2012 alongside his fellow EXO bandmates. Soon after the debut, EXO went viral on the internet with several popular songs such as Wolf, Monster, Love Shot, Call Me Baby, and more.

While executing his activities as an EXO member, Kai also kick-started his solo activities on the sidelines. In 2016, he made his acting debut with the web drama Choco Bank, and also made a cameo in another web drama called 7 First Kisses. He also continued his work in the acting career through projects like The Big Issue, The Miracle We Met, Spring Has Come, Andante, and more.

In 2019, he made his debut in SM Entertainment's super boy group, SuperM, which also included other K-pop idols such as NCT's Taeyong and Mark, WayV's Ten and Lucas, EXO's Baekhyun, and SHINee's Taemin. In November 2020, he released his first solo EP, Kai, which held the song, Mmmh, as its title track. He followed up with his second EP, released in November 2021, called Peaches, with a title track under the same name.

Around February 2023, he rolled out his third EP, Rover, which also held a title track under the same name as the album. In May, Kai enlisted in the military to fulfill his mandatory enlistment and was subsequently discharged in February 2025. Following his return to the industry, the idol released his fourth EP, Wait On Me, in April 2025, which held two title tracks, Adult Swin and Wait On Me.

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He is also participating in other promotional content such as interviews, variety show appearances, and more.

Edited by Aishwarya Sai