Being a member of one of the biggest K-pop groups in the world can’t be easy as you’re constantly living under a microscope. Not only do these idols have to be careful with what they say during interviews, but they’d also need to think thrice before sharing anything on social media.
Unfortunately for one BTS (방탄소년단) member, his recent post on Instagram has led many to accuse him of being Islamophobic. Here’s what happened:
Yesterday (Wednesday, 16th August), Kim Namjoon (김남준), famously known as RM a.k.a leader of BTS, posted a song he was listening to on his Instagram story which was “Bad Religion” by American singer-songwriter Frank Ocean. The post may seem like nothing at first but for your information, the song was heavily criticised for its alleged Islamophobic lyrics.
Some parts of the lyrics read, “And you say ‘Allahu Akbar’, I told him, ‘Don’t curse me’, ‘Bo Bo, you need prayer’, I guess it couldn’t hurt me, If it brings me to my knees, it’s a bad religion”. Many of BTS’s Muslim fans were furious after seeing their idol posting a problematic song, hence the hashtag #RMAPOLOGISETOMUSLIMS” trended on Twitter. A large number of ARMYs accused the rapper of being a hypocrite while others commented he should’ve been more careful with what he choose to share on social media.
It’s also not surprising that some came to RM’s defense saying that fans should take out their anger on Frank Ocean instead as he was the one who wrote the song. The idol has yet to take down the IG story and at the time of writing, neither he nor HYBE released a statement on the backlash he’s receiving for the post.
What do you think? Should RM apologise to the offended ARMYs or was it all a misunderstanding?
