BTS Visits White House, Fans Pounce on Latest Tucker Carlson Comments

Tucker Carlson was not prepared for the storm that was coming after commenting on BTS’ White House visit which occurred on Tuesday, May 31. The right-wing Fox News anchor took a jab at the massively popular Korean musical artists—a hard pill to swallow for BTS’ fanbase, ARMY. 

The musical sensation BTS is well-known for their devoted and loyal fans, which are located all across the world. Their global presence has drawn the attention of many in the media, with an incident occurring in June of 2019 after an Australian news station aired an extremely xenophobic segment on the group.

Australia’s Channel 9 mocked the members’ names, discussed their “ambiguous sexuality,” hinted at nuclear war, and more. The station’s fate was secured by ARMY’s persistent efforts to defend their artists while defaming the news channel. Two years ago, the situation escalated quickly, however, even though Carlson’s snarky response is not of the same caliber, his admittance that such acts are “degrading” America has created a whirlwind online. 

The Issue At Hand

On Tuesday, Carlson stated on air, “Yeah, so we got a Korean pop group to discuss anti-Asian hate crimes in the United States,” before continuing with, “Okay. Good job, guys.” His sarcastic remarks quickly rubbed masses of ARMY the wrong way, inciting them to turn to social media sites like Twitter and Instagram to defame the political media figure. 

Tucker Carlson deciding to take on BTS stans might genuinely be one of the worst media decisions he’s ever made. They will haunt him for the rest of time. https://t.co/3Irz7dEN8c

— Ohmic Imp 🏳️‍⚧️ (@OhmicImp) June 1, 2022

Swarms of fans quickly began to create and post memes of Carlson, making fun of him or downright attacking his character and online persona. Many AMRY across Twitter have posted harsh criticisms of Carlson, one account writing, “Get rid of Tucker Carlson, physically, mentally, spiritually, and psychically remove him from the collective consciousness.” One of the main reasons for ARMY’s outrage is to defend BTS, whose main purpose behind the visit was to speak on Asian representation and hate crimes against AAPI individuals, as AAPI Heritage Month comes to a close.  

BTS’ Message

BTS had begun to speak widely on the issue of Asian hate and representation when COVID-19 struck, when Asian became the victims of hate crimes after many politicians worldwide had blamed China for the pandemic, after its origins in the city of Wuhan. The issue has persisted for two years, and as an influential representative of East-Asian entertainment, the group has taken matters into their own hands to address the situation. When the world was struck by the emergence of Asian hate crimes in March 2021, BTS was quick to turn to social media to speak their minds: 

“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,” they wrote on Twitter, along with the tags #StopAsianHate and #StopAAPIHate. When BTS had first started entering the Western scene, there were many instances with reporters disrespecting the group.

Tucker Carlson talked shit about BTS? Yeah his life is over, those stans don’t play.

— Guillermo del Whoro (@KevTenacity) June 1, 2022

In a Rolling Stone interview that same month, leader RM stated, “The way we think is that everything that we do, and our existence itself, is contributing to the hope for leaving this xenophobia, these negative things, behind. It’s our hope, too, that people in the minority will draw some energy and strength from our existence.” Now their influence has landed them an opportunity to stand and speak at one of the most well-recognized offices in the world. 

The Future for AAPI

Despite the group’s opportunity to spread more awareness on the pressing topic, instances such as Carlson’s malicious remarks will not suddenly vanish. Asian discrimination is an institutionalized behavior mainly in the U.S., and while this certainly was another step in the right direction, it will take breaking down the stereotypes one by one in order to ensure that all Asians are respected and treated equally.

AAPI Heritage Month has passed, we should embrace and educate ourselves on the battles that all AAPI individuals have faced throughout history. There still stands a long journey ahead of us, but with determination and perseverance, we can certainly achieve a future void of inequality. And like BTS has confided in the past, “We stand against racial discrimination. We condemn violence. You, I and we all have the right to be respected. We will stand together.”