BTS, the K-Pop supergroup, met US President Joe Biden and attended the White House press briefing on Tuesday May 31 (as per local time). The mega-popular music stars were due to meet US President Joe Biden when they dropped by at the briefing.
“While many of you may know BTS as Grammy-nominated international icons they also play an important role as youth ambassadors promoting a message of respect and positivity,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said introducing the band.
After the press briefing, the group met Biden to discuss hate crimes targetting Asians.
During the press briefing before the meet, all members of the supergroup spoke, mostly in Korean, barring RM who is the only member who is fluent in English.
“Hi, we’re BTS and it is a great honor to be invited to the White House today to discuss the important issues of anti-Asian hate crimes, Asian inclusion and diversity,” he said. Rest of them spoke with the help of a translater.
“We were devastated by the recent surge of hate crimes, including Asian American hate crimes. To put a stop on this and support the cause, we’d like to take this opportunity to voice ourselves once again,” the translator related. “We are here today thanks to our army — our fans worldwide — who have different nationalities and cultures and use different languages.”
The meeting came as Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander month in May drew to a close following a sharp upswing in hate crimes against the community in the past year.
Attacks against people of Asian descent have escalated as some politicians and pundits have encouraged Americans to blame China for COVID-19, amid other tensions.
The boy band’s meeting with Biden was closed to media organisations.
(With agency inputs)
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