K-Pop Supergroup BTS Address on Anti-Asian Hate Draws Massive Audience to White House Briefing

Korean pop supergroup BTS joined press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre as part of a White House visit aimed at addressing Asian representation and anti-Asian hate crimes.

Each member of BTS addressed the importance of Asian inclusion while at the podium on Tuesday, and voiced their solidarity for the AAPI community.

“We were devastated by the recent surge of hate crimes, including Asian-American hate crimes. To put a stop to this and support the cause, we would like to take this opportunity to voice ourselves again,” said Park Ji-min, according to a White House translator.

J-Hope went on to credit BTS fans, known as the Army, for their White House appearance, noting that they come from all over the world and speak a myriad of languages.

The Army was definitely watching, as the White House stream reached more than 280,000 viewers at one point.

The number of concurrent viewers plummeted below 70,000 as National Economic Council Director Brian Deese took the podium.

The group also met with President Joe Biden on Tuesday — the final day of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month — but the meeting was closed to reporters.

In a statement on the meeting, the White House said the band “will join President Biden to discuss Asian inclusion and representation, and to address anti-Asian hate crimes and discrimination which have become more prominent issues in recent years.”

The White House noted that Biden “has previously spoken about his commitment to combating the surge of anti-Asian hate crimes.”

BTS’ first visit to the White House comes days after Biden returned from his first trip to Asia as President. Biden traveled to Seoul for three days, during which he met with newly elected South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol.

According to NBC, which reviewed a compilation of hate crime data published by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism, anti-Asian hate crime increased by 339 percent last year compared to 2020.

Watch above, via C-SPAN.