A years-old livestream featuring members of NCT has resurfaced online, fueling renewed discussion about Mark Lee and prompting some internet users to speculate about comments made by Ten>.

The renewed attention comes after Mark has faced criticism from some online communities over several controversies, including criticism related to clothing featuring the Confederate flag and other incidents that drew negative reactions from some fans.

Amid those discussions, social media users began circulating a clip from a 2018 livestream featuring Mark, Ten, Johnny, and Jaehyun, a quartet often affectionately referred to by fans as the group’s “foreign swaggers.”

In the video, Mark speaks in English using a playful tone. Ten responds by asking what Mark is doing and jokingly imitates the way he is speaking, asking whether that is the “cool” way to talk. Johnny remarks that it is simply how Mark speaks, while Mark appears to laugh and suggests that Ten is teasing him.

Following the clip’s recent resurgence, some social media users argued that Ten’s reaction demonstrated he was aware of criticism surrounding the way Mark occasionally spoke English. Some commenters interpreted the exchange as “evidence” that Ten recognized what critics have described as Mark adopting a style of speech associated with African American Vernacular English (AAVE).

However, the original livestream itself does not include any explicit criticism from Ten.

The clip shows a lighthearted exchange among the members, and Ten does not directly accuse Mark of inappropriate behavior or make any statement about cultural appropriation. Whether his imitation was intended simply as friendly teasing or carried another meaning is open to interpretation.

Because of that, many fans have pushed back against the recent narrative, arguing that people are assigning motivations to Ten that are not evident in the video itself.

Ten clocking mark a while back for his blaccent is how it should be pic.twitter.com/K92suMAdTV

— keyra /:) (@keyra1430) April 3, 2025

Others pointed out that close friends frequently joke about one another’s habits during livestreams and that isolated clips, especially when removed from their broader context, can easily be interpreted in different ways.

The discussion has also revived broader conversations about Mark’s past controversies, particularly debates over his use of certain speech patterns in English. Some critics have argued that aspects of his speaking style resembled AAVE, while many supporters have maintained that his manner of speaking reflects his multicultural upbringing and natural interactions with English-speaking friends rather than deliberate imitation.

At the time of writing, neither Mark nor Ten has commented on the resurfaced clip, and there is no indication that the two artists are involved in any public dispute.

It is also worth noting that claims that Ten “called out” or “criticized” Mark are based largely on interpretations circulating online, rather than on any direct statement made by Ten himself.

Although the old livestream has once again become a topic of discussion, the available footage shows a brief exchange between friends, and many of the stronger conclusions now circulating on social media remain speculative rather than confirmed.