This week, on the final day of Asian American and Pacific Islanders Heritage Month, Joe Biden invited the K-pop band BTS to speak at the White House on subjects of anti-Asian hate crimes and Asian inclusion and diversity. And Tucker Carlson decided this would be a good thing to make fun of.
“Things have gotten very bad for Joe Biden, both public-facing and internally,” Carlson said on his Fox News racism showcase Tuesday night. “What are they doing about it? Well, they broke glass in case of emergency and invited a Korean pop group to speak at the White House today.”
“Yeah, so we got a Korean pop group to discuss anti-Asian hate crimes in the United States,” he sneered after showing a brief clip. “Okay. Good job, guys.”
Putting aside the fact that Carlson seems genuinely incapable of believing that this appearance could actually have been about the rise of anti-Asian hate crimes in the U.S. and not Biden’s low polling numbers—and also setting aside the fact that BTS’ immense popularity brought in a quarter-million viewers to watch their White House live stream on YouTube—aside from all of that, Carlson clearly has no idea what he messing with by stoking the ire of the BTS Army.
The BTS hive and K-pop stans in general have repeatedly proven their power in the past. They’re especially adept at hijacking racist and right-wing hashtags with memes and fancams, from the “Million MAGA March” to Marjorie Taylor Greene’s attempts to get #ImpeachBiden trending. They also flooded ticket requests for a Trump rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, leading to an embarrassingly low turnout, and they overtook and shut down racist police apps at the height of 2020’s Black Lives Matter protests.
In short, do not come for the BTS Army. They are massive and they are organized and they will destroy you.
imagine if this is what destroyed tucker carlson https://t.co/lGWAA6k9Gp
— soul nate (@MNateShyamalan) June 1, 2022
Oh shit, Tucker, you fucked with the wrong bunch of fans https://t.co/LDAdTOZjOp
— Noah Smith 🐇🇺🇦 (@Noahpinion) June 1, 2022
If BTS ends Tucker’s career, there is literally no way I couldn’t stan. I would have to.
— Italian Elon Musk (@xoxogossipgita) June 1, 2022
fuck yeah bts army about to rip tucker carlson to shreds lfg
— it was rachatha all along (@RachelLeishman) June 1, 2022
Meanwhile, Democrats in Congress are fighting over who stans BTS more, and whether you find that cute or a little bit cringey, it’s certainly infinitely better than Tucker Carlson’s approach.
Not even close. #BTSARMY pic.twitter.com/kcKd4A5Xt3
— Senator Chris Coons (@ChrisCoons) May 26, 2022
If you’re a true fan, who’s your bias? And don’t ask your staff.
— Senator Mazie Hirono (@maziehirono) May 26, 2022
(via MMFA, image: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
