There is plenty to be said about K-pop band BTS’ appearance at the Grammys on Sunday night, between the group’s matching Louis Vuitton suits on the red carpet, their fun, 007-inspired performance of “Butter,” and, of course, the swoon-worthy clip of band member V flirting with Olivia Rodrigo in the audience.
And yet, the Australian talk show The Project instead decided to focus on the group’s recent brush with COVID-19 in its coverage of the awards show. Now, The Project’s Twitter account has attracted the rightfully indignant wrath of BTS fans for using cheap, manipulative editing in its recap of the evening to make a joke about V spreading the virus.
“K-Pop sensation BTS dropped in, dismissing their very recent battles with COVID-19,” a woman narrates in the video, referring to band member Jungkook testing positive for the virus on March 27. Despite that positive test result, BTS’ management company Big Hit Music announced the day before the Grammys that Jungkook had quarantined and recovered from his mild case of the virus, and he was ultimately cleared to attend the awards show after receiving a negative result from a rapid antigen test.
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The controversial video from The Project then shows a clip of host Trevor Noah asking BTS how they’re feeling, to which they reply that they’re feeling great, and cuts to footage of V dancing in the audience with his hand covering his mouth. For the tasteless punchline, The Project edited the out-of-context excerpt to look as though V was coughing, adding fake sound effects and graphics resembling the spiky CDC drawing of the COVID-19 virus spreading through the air around him. The actual video clearly shows that the singer wasn’t coughing; he was simply vibing along to Justin Bieber’s performance of “Peaches.”
The six-and-a-half minute video is rife with cheesy, unfunny jokes (“Lady Gaga came out singing—either that, or her dress was too tight”). But considering the rise in Asian hate and horrific violence against Asian people since the start of the pandemic, suggesting that a South Korean member of BTS was spreading COVID at the Grammys only perpetuates harmful racist stereotypes.
The folks Down Under must not have known what they were getting into by messing with one of the biggest, most obsessive fandoms in the music world. The Project was swiftly ratioed on Twitter, with the BTS Army flooding the video with comments condemning the joke as racist and calling on the talk show to remove its post and apologize.
“If your initial idea of an edit for a clip that shows Asian public figures is to relate them to the virus/COVID, then I suggest you seek help,” one user commented. “It’s racist, you’re being utterly despicable, and you’re perpetuating hate against Asians. Don’t even try to mask it as a joke.” Another wrote, “You used your show, ‘The Project,’ which many Australians tune into every night, to perpetuate hate against Asians during a time where anti-Asian hate crimes is at its highest. Issue a formal apology immediately.”
As of Monday afternoon, The Project has yet to reply, but thanks to the ever-devoted BTS Army, #StopAsianHate has begun on Twitter.
