BTS K-pop stars share anti-Asian racial discrimination they’ve faced

“We remember times when we were discriminated against as Asians. We endured swearing for no reason and made fun of our appearance. We were even asked why Asians speak English,” said the group in a press release. declaration posted on Twitter Tuesday.

The Stop AAPI (Asian American and Pacific Islander) Hate group says it has received more than 500 reports of anti-Asian hate incidents in the first two months of 2021.

In San Francisco, police have stepped up patrols in predominantly Asian neighborhoods following “an alarming spike in brazen anti-Asian violence,” the department said.

BTS addressed victims of violence in their statement.

“We send our deepest condolences to those who have lost their loved ones. We feel grief and anger, ”the group wrote.

“Our own experiences are irrelevant to the events that have taken place over the past few weeks. But these experiences were enough to make us feel powerless and undermine our self-esteem.

BTS said they have carefully considered how to respond to the situation, but now the message is clear.

“We are against racial discrimination. We condemn violence,” the statement read. “You, me and we all have the right to be respected. We will stand together.”

In June 2020, the group donated $ 1 million to Black Lives Matter, then explained their decision in an interview with Variety magazine.

“When we are abroad or in other situations, we have also been subjected to prejudice. We believe that prejudice should not be tolerated; it really has no place,” said Jin, member. from the group, to the magazine.