BTS's J-Hope is now in hot waters after liking Crush's apology for, allegedly, discriminating against two black fans who attended the 2022 Someday Plemora Festival. An online poster released a video of the hip-hop singer-songwriter, who seemed to purposely avoid holding the hands of a couple of fans who were people of color.
In the clip, Crush was seen reaching the hands of the concertgoers in front of him but withdrew his and seemed to refuse to hold two black fans. After skipping them, he extended his hands again to reach others.
Crush then released an apology and addressed the issue in a post on Instagram, explaining it was only a misunderstanding and that he did it for safety reasons. J-Hope liked the post, to the surprise of many.
The two k-pop idols have been known for collaborating on the song "Rush Hour." Though some criticized J-Hope, others came to his defense, saying it might only be a mistake or an accident.
As of this writing, the BTS member is yet to break his silence about it. Meanwhile, the controversy began on Monday, October 10, when an online user posted the clip of Crush.
In his statement, he stressed that he didn't avoid the two fans' hands because of their skin color but due to safety reasons. He said that as a safety precaution, he had to stop giving out high-fives to fans in particular sections.
"Fans were getting too close to the fences holding up the audience section, and I saw that those in the front row were getting pushed against the fence," he explained. "So, I made a quick judgment not to approach for the safety of my fans."
He then offered his sincerest apology for his action and confessed his love for each of his fans. Crush also revealed that he would never discriminate or favor anyone.
However, some fans aren't buying the R&B hitmaker's explanation, finding it not to make any sense. That said, he's continuously receiving backlash from global fans, resulting in more criticisms directed at him.
Alternatively, his supporters show their love and support for the idol in the online community, The Qoo. Many said the K-pop artist was never a racist and refused to touch two Korean fans, not the black viewers.
Another claimed he couldn't be racist, knowing Asians also heavily suffer from racism. A different fan explained that the international fans probably knew Crush wasn't a racist and were only attacking any Korean celebrities and putting the racism tag on them.
