BTS Criticized for Wearing Nazi Symbols

The K-pop group also posed for a photo shoot at Berlin's Holocaust memorial

BY Josiah HughesPublished Nov 13, 2018

Last week, K-pop sensations BTS faced some media scrutiny when member Jimin wore a T-shirt that appeared to make light of Japan being bombed at the end of World War II. The controversy has only grown now that a photo shoot featuring Nazi imagery has resurfaced.

In a series of photos that are embedded below, the band's members wear hats with Nazi insignia on them. They also posed for a photo shoot at the Holocaust memorial in Berlin.

As the New York Post reports, the Simon Wiesenthal Center has responded to the band's controversies by accusing them of "mocking the past." In a new post, the centre expressed concerns over the group's actions. 

"Wearing a T-shirt in Japan mocking the victims of the Nagasaki A-bomb, is just the latest incident of this band mocking the past," the organization's Rabbi Abraham Cooper said. "Flags appearing on stage at their concert were eerily similar to the Nazi Swastika. It goes without saying that this group, which was invited to speak at the UN, owes the people of Japan and the victims of the Nazism an apology."

He continued: "But that is not enough. It is clear that those designing and promoting this group's career are too comfortable with denigrating the memory of the past. The result is that on young generations in Korea and around the world are more likely to identify bigotry and intolerance as being 'cool' and help erase the lessons of history. The management of this group, not only the front performers, should publicly apologize."

In response to the BTS member's offensive atomic bomb T-shirt last week, they had a performance on Japanese television cancelled at the last minute. The band apologized for the cancellation, though they didn't speak out about the ill-advised shirt.
 
KPOP Boyband BTS Holocaust Photoshoot from r/trashy

UPDATE: BTS's label Big Hit Entertainment has issued the following statement and apology (scroll down for the English statement).

 

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