It's been more than a year into the COVID-19 pandemic as Asians continue to face extreme hate, trolling. In 2021, #StopAsianHate, #StopAAPIHate, #RacismIsNotComedy, #StopAsianHateCrimes hashtags have taken center stage and trended worldwide on Twitter amid the rise in the attacks against Asians. But, once again, the South Korean group BTS, which recently was nominated for a Grammy, has come under the spotlight for facing extreme racist and xenophobic remarks.
A day ago, a BTS fan club from Chile reported that a short sketch "Mi Barrio" on Chilean television did a parody on BTS. According to the translation via the fanclub, the parody showed seven people on the couch. When the interviewer asked them to introduce themselves, the band members said Kim Jong-Uno, Kim Jong-Dos, Kim Jong-Tres, Kim Jong-Cuatro, and Juan Carlos while mocking a member's name. Then, they were asked to speak in Korean as one of the so-called comedians spoke in accented gibberish allegedly mocking the language.
[THREAD] Last night, Chilean comedy TV show #MiBarrio (open TV channel available to the whole country) presented a parody performance of BTS, where all the jokes were based on racism and xenophobia, including mockery of their language, (cont.)
video cr; isidoradae pic.twitter.com/tBK8CYbbKs
— BTS Chile (@BTS_Chile) April 11, 2021
Here is a translation of the content of the video: pic.twitter.com/dsp3HdIICV
— BTS Chile (@BTS_Chile) April 11, 2021
The fan club further revealed that the said channel has responded in the bare minimum way without actually acknowledging what was wrong with the short sketch in the first place. No apology has been released yet.
Hello, we come to you with an update. #MiBarrio has posted in ther Instagram account the following text.
We think that they won't release an apology and that they don't feel their actions are wrong. We understood from their instagram post they still believe that [cont+] pic.twitter.com/vevYcelLVE
— BTS Chile (@BTS_Chile) April 11, 2021
Almost two months ago, BTS was once again subjected to racism after their MTV Unplugged performance when a German host used racist remarks towards the popular group. After tremendous backlash, the radio show and host released multiple bare minimum apologies. Celebrities who have worked with BTS, Asian stars among others stood with BTS and called out the racism of the radio host.
This isn't a one-off incident. During the promotions of 'Map Of The Soul: 7' in 2020 before the rise in the COVID-19 cases around the world, the group was subjected to racism on Howard Stern's show. Recalling the incident in the Weverse magazine in September 2020 after the 'Dynamite's' explosion globally, Howard Stern, the host of The Howard Stern Show of the SiriusXM staple, talked about coronavirus and BTS' visit on the show on February 21. He mentioned how their writer Sal Governale made racist remarks against the group by saying, “There’s no way those guys don’t have the coronavirus.” Howard Stern accused him of being racist and producer Gary Dell’Abate further added, “Every celebrity who walks through the SiriusXM door is traveling all over the world — not just Asians.”
Two weeks ago, BTS strongly condemned the rise in anti-Asian violence in a lengthy statement. "We send our deepest condolences to those who have lost their loved ones. We feel grief and anger," the statement read.
"We recall moments when we faced discrimination as Asians. We have endured expletives without reason and were mocked for the way we look. We were even asked why Asians spoke in English. We cannot put into words the pain of becoming the subject of hatred and violence for such a reason. Our own experiences are inconsequential compared to the events that have occurred over the past few weeks. But these experiences were enough to make us feel powerless and chip away our self-esteem."
BTS further spoke about facing racism and being subjected to the discrimination they've faced over the years. Standing in solidarity with their Asian community and condemning the violence, BTS concluded their statement by saying, "We stand against racial discrimination. We condemn violence. You, I and we all have the right to be respected. We will stand together."
#StopAsianHate#StopAAPIHate pic.twitter.com/mOmttkOpOt
— 방탄소년단 (@BTS_twt) March 30, 2021
While ARMY continues to stand with BTS, with the rise in Anti-Asian hate, these incidents can't be downplayed. Netizens, celebrities continue to call out anti-Asian hate speeches and attacks. Racism in the name of parodies, jokes, and comedy should be ignored and people need to be held accountable for their actions.
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