#RacismIsNotAJoke: BTS ARMY calls out Jimmy Kimmel for a seemingly xenophobic joke

In another incident, the BTS ARMY slammed Jimmy Kimmel for his monologue that compared the COVID-19 variants to boy bands over the years. Although he did not mention the name explicitly, ARMYs were certain that he referred to the K-pop group when he said, “until eventually, we get to one that’s so contagious it destroys all life on Earth.”

The fandom trended #RacismIsNotAJoke and #JimmyKimmelRacist whilst demanding an apology and bringing up the conversation of anti-Asian hatred across the world.

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Late night host Jimmy Kimmel under fire once again by the BTS ARMY

In a recent episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the host performed a monologue that talked about the latest Coronavirus variant Omicron BA.2. The speech turned sideways when he compared the variants to different boy bands since the 90s and 2000s. He mentioned boy bands such as Backstreet Boys, NSYNC, Jonas Brothers, and others “splitting off in different directions.”

The comparison seemed insensitive to many and funny to others. It elicited criticism as ARMYs and viewers claimed that the last phrase, where he said “it destroys all life on Earth,” seemed to refer to the K-pop group’s world-sweeping success. The issue brought up his past problem, where the host compared “BTS fever” to the life-threatening virus too.

Fans and viewers, including celebrities, took to Twitter to lash out at the host and the show’s writing team. The discussion snowballed into #StopAsianHate as fans started sharing news reports of increasing Asian hate crime and the group leader, RM’s speech in the UN condemning Asian hate.

However, a few people spoke up about how the group’s name was never mentioned and believed such a serious assumption for the host’s words were an overreaction.

Three days after the backlash, Jimmy Kimmel has yet to post any official statement. Meanwhile, ARMYs are hard at work mass-emailing the broadcasting network ABC about the incident.

In other news, positive COVID cases in South Korea continue to rise, and the K-pop industry is among many that have been affected. Jimin was reported to be testing positive and recovering from an appendectomy on January 31.

DRIPPIN’s Lee Hyeop and Cha Junho, all three VIVIZ members, and THE BOYZ’s Sangyeon recently tested positive for COVID too.