Big Hit Entertainment, the company that manages K-pop supergroup BTS, offered an apology on Facebook today for controversial photos of the band that resurfaced over the last week. Yesterday, a Japanese TV station canceled a BTS appearance because of a photo of band member Jimin wearing a t-shirt that appeared to celebrate the Hiroshima bombing. The photo, from 2017, went viral while BTS is in Japan to promote a sold-out tour there.
I can never accept the act that #BTS member wore the atomic bomb T-shirts humanely. The problem is not the relation between Japan and Korea. It's just humanity. pic.twitter.com/x37nZs8pJG
— YUJI 髙橋 裕司 TAKAHASHI (@YuJett) November 9, 2018
Their management company also addressed the controversy of related incidents. In 2015, band member RM wore a hat with a Nazi insignia for a photoshoot, and the band waved flags with what appear to be Nazi-affiliated symbols during one 2014 concert. Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, an organization for Jewish human rights, spoke out about the incident earlier this week, accused BTS of “mocking the past” for wearing such offensive imagery.
In their statement, posted to Facebook today, Big Hit addressed the controversy:
“We would like to offer our sincere apologies not only for failing to take the precautions that could have prevented the wearing of such clothing by our artist that inadvertently inflicted pain on anyone affected by the use of atomic weapons, but to anyone who may have experienced distress and discomfort by witnessing the association of our artists with imagery related to atomic bombings.”
They additionally noted they do not support totalitarian beliefs of any kind:
In all activities involving BTS and any other artists associated with our company, Big Hit does not support any organizations or groups oriented towards political extremism and totalitarian beliefs including Nazism, is against all such entities and activities, had no intention of causing distress or pain to anyone affected by historical events and incidents by being inadvertently associated with such organizations or groups, and we will continue to adhere to these principles.
Big Hit urged fans to hold the company accountable for “failing to strictly review the clothing and accessories that our members were made to wear,” and not to punish members of the band, since Big Hit were the ones managing their public appearances.
During a show in Tokyo, Jimin addressed the issue to the audience: “My heart really aches… not only Army [as BTS fans are collectively known] but also many people around the world must have been surprised and concerned over recent controversies.”
Read the management company’s full apology here.
