South Korean K-pop band BTS met Joe Biden at the White House on Tuesday. Topic of the meeting: anti-Asian discrimination.
The South Korean superstars of the band BTS attended the daily press briefing at the White House last Tuesday. The reason for their visit: The musicians spoke out against anti-Asian hate crimes and discrimination in the USA. “We have been devastated by the recent spate of hate crimes, including Asian-American hate crimes. To put an end to this and to support the cause, we would like to take this opportunity to speak out again,” said those in black suits dressed members according to the “Hollywood Reporter”.
It’s not wrong to be different, and equality begins “when we open up and accept all our differences,” explained Suga (29) and V (26) added: “Everyone has their own story. We hope that the today is a step forward to respecting and understanding each individual as a valuable person.”
Joe Biden attests BTS “great talent”
Then there was a meeting with US President Joe Biden (79). The 79-year-old published a video of the meeting on Twitter, where Biden thanked the musicians for their commitment. “It was great meeting you guys. Thank you for all you are doing to raise awareness of the rise in anti-Asian hate crime and discrimination,” he captioned the clip. In it he addresses the band directly: “People rely a lot on what you say. And what you do is good for people. Not just your great talent, it’s the message you convey. That’s important.”
Before the meeting, a statement said that they wanted to jointly discuss solutions on how to stem the tide of crimes against people of Asian origin and promote integration. Last year, BTS released a statement about self-experienced discrimination. “We remember moments when we were marginalized as Asians,” they tweeted at the time. One had to endure swear words for no reason and was mocked because of one’s appearance.
