Millions of people were seen outside the White House in Washington D.C. However, they were not gathered there to spot Joe Biden, but to catch a glimpse of BTS members RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook, who were scheduled to meet the US president. The Korean boy band, all dressed in black tuxedos, met Biden to discuss some burning issues.
BTS has been vocal about facing racial prejudice and being victims of hate crimes. The band has spoken about the changes that need to be incorporated and they discussed the same with the President of the United States as well. The band met White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre at the briefing room podium, where they had a dialogue about these issues.
Park Ji-min, better known as Jimin, expressed through the band’s translator that the group was “devastated by the recent surge of hate crimes” in the United States. Anti-Asian opinions and hate crimes targeting Asians have been on the rise ever since the Covid-19 pandemic began, and the boy band has often been a target of the same. Let’s not forget how former US president, Donald Trump, himself often referred to the pandemic as “the China virus” and “kung flu.”
Suga implored for tolerance and added, “It’s not wrong to be different. I think equality begins when we open up and embrace all of our differences.” V added to this by saying, “Everyone has their own history.” The boys then met Biden, who greeted the members warmly.
“This is an important month here in America. A lot of our Asian-American friends have been subject to real discrimination,” he told the group. The president even shared snippets of their meeting on his official Twitter account. BTS got him to sign the Covid-19 Hate Crimes Act and thanked him for the same.
The White House had earlier stated that Joe Biden had invited BTS to “discuss the need to come together in solidarity, Asian inclusion and representation, and addressing anti-Asian hate crimes and discrimination, which have become more prominent issues in recent years.”
Fans will also be thrilled to know that BTS is just a few days away from dropping their upcoming album, Proof, which is scheduled for June 10th.
(Featured Image Credits: Instagram @BTS_official)
