Tom Holland’s 2017 Microaggression Incident Resurfaces on Social Media Seven Years Later

An interview Tom Holland gave during his visit to Korea in 2017 is once again drawing attention due to a microaggression controversy. Recently, a popular TikTok account released a compilation featuring videos of K-pop idols responding to microaggressions, and this compilation included a clip of Tom Holland, which attracted widespread attention. The core of the controversy involves a moment when Tom Holland asked Eric Nam, an American journalist and K-pop singer, “You speak English very well. How did you learn English?” In response, Eric Nam said, “I’m American!”, to which Tom Holland replied with “Oh.” This awkward exchange occurred in 2017 when Tom Holland visited Korea to promote the film “Spider-Man: Homecoming.” At that time, Tom Holland and his film co-star Jacob Batallon appeared on a V-Live live broadcast alongside Eric Nam. Eric Nam spoke in English to Tom and Jacob but translated their conversation into Korean for viewers due to subtitle technical issues. Eric Nam was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, and moved to Korea in 2011 to pursue his musical career. English is his native language and the language he uses most naturally. Interestingly, although this awkward interaction was reported at the time, it has gained new attention because of Tom Holland’s inclusion in this recent TikTok compilation. The compilation also features videos of various K-pop idols responding to being praised for speaking English well despite it being their native language, with responses such as “Okay, I’m Canadian,” “I was born in Australia,” and “This is my mother tongue!” The video has accumulated over 4 million views within three days of being posted, and thousands of comments focus on Tom Holland’s appearance, including remarks like “Even Tom Holland got caught in this 😭😭😭,” “I can imagine Tom Holland went home and cried,” and “I didn’t expect this from Tom Holland.”