Followers of BTS have pleaded with the Okay-pop band’s administration firm HYBE to fireplace Scooter Braun, the CEO of HYBE-America, for his pro-Israel views amid the conflict in Gaza.
The Korea Occasions reported on Wednesday that some BTS followers, generally generally known as the ARMY, reacted to a speech Braun delivered in Israel in December that referred to as for the return of the hostages taken in the course of the Oct. 7 terrorist assault by Hamas.
On Feb. 23, in line with native media experiences, a gaggle of BTS followers employed an digital billboard truck and despatched it to HYBE’s headquarters in central Seoul. “Korean and Worldwide ARMY demand HYBE divests from Zionism and Zionists within the trade,” the message displayed on the truck mentioned in each English and Korean alongside clips of devastation from the conflict in Gaza.
The message continued, “If our calls for should not met, ARMY will proceed to push so that you can meet our calls for. Don’t look away when the identical factor that occurred to your Korean ancestors is going on to Palestinians. We ask that you just stand for humanity, for the suitable aspect of historical past and in opposition to violence.”
On social media, BTS followers have pushed hashtags resembling #HYBEDivestFromZionism to boost consciousness of their marketing campaign to oust Braun. Followers have additionally intimated that they’ll cease buying music and merchandise associated to HYBE and its artists until the label accedes to their calls for.
BTS followers have lengthy been recognized for his or her on-line activism, notably on X, Instagram and TikTok. The band’s supporters are vocal supporters of the Black Lives Matter and different social justice actions, and in addition performed a small function in disrupting Donald Trump’s 2020 reelection marketing campaign, together with falsely ordering tickets to Trump’s rallies, in order that the attendances can be decrease than anticipated or cancelled outright.
The Korea Occasions experiences that HYBE addressed Braun’s speech in an announcement that mentioned, “It’s a private assertion that’s separate from firm administration.” Though, the label has but to handle the calls for made by BTS followers by way of the truck messages.
The Hollywood Reporter has reached out to HYBE and reps for Scooter Braun for additional remark.
HYBE, previously generally known as Huge Hit Leisure, acquired Braun’s Ithaca Holdings in 2021, a deal that might later see the American music mogul change into CEO of HYBE-America.
In that December speech in Tel Aviv, Braun mentioned his grandmother was a survivor of Auschwitz and that he “needed to come and stand with my individuals.” He added he had spoken with a number of the survivors of the Supernova rave, the place over 360 individuals have been killed on Oct. 7 by Hamas.
Feb. 29, 10:13 p.m. A earlier model of this story incorrectly mentioned Scooter Braun’s December speech in Israel was in help of the conflict in Gaza, it was in regards to the return of hostages.