German radio host apologizes after racist remarks about BTS; Halsey and Lauv defend K-Pop group

German radio host Matthias Matuschik issued an apology after making racist remarks about K-Pop group BTS on his show on radio station Bayern3.

Matthias made the said remarks when he reacted to the "Fix You" (Coldplay) cover of BTS.

According to a BBC report, the radio host compared BTS to COVID-19, dubbing the group as "some crappy virus that hopefully there will be a vaccine for soon as well."

He also tagged the "Fix You" performance of BTS as "blasphemy."

He said, "For this you will be vacationing in North Korea for the next 20 years!"

Following his comments, ARMYs and netizens blasted the radio host on social media for his anti-Asian comments.

Various artists also took a stand and defended BTS from the remarks made by the radio host.

Singer Lauv said, "Standing by my @bts_bighit brothers and everyone continuously [affected] by racist remarks as hurtful as what we heard on Bayern 3. no one should have to endure this and together we must stand up and stop it."

standing by my @bts_bighit brothers and everyone continuously effected by racist remarks as hurtful as what we heard on Bayern 3. no one should have to endure this and together we must stand up and stop it

— lauv (@lauvsongs) February 26, 2021

Meanwhile, singer MAX posted on Twitter, "BTS is one of the hardest working and most humble groups in the industry. They deserve all the success they’ve earned. Hearing such hateful words used against them by the radio host at Bayern 3 made me sick. The hate to them and the Asian community as a whole is unacceptable."

BTS is one of the hardest working and most humble groups in the industry. They deserve all the success they’ve earned. Hearing such hateful words used against them by the radio host at Bayern 3 made me sick. The hate to them and the Asian community as a whole is unacceptable

— MAX (@MAXMusic) February 26, 2021

Halsey, who worked with BTS on the song "Boy With Luv," aired her sentiment on Instagram Stories. In her statement, the singer remarked that the comment was unacceptable and irresponsible considering the fact that anti-Asian incidents are growing in the US.

(Credit: @iamhalsey Instagram)

She said, "Racism and xenophobia cannot be thinly veiled as ‘on air humor.’ Irresponsible and disgusting statement in a time where hate speech and violent behavior towards Asian communities are skyrocketing. This is unacceptable. I hope a better apology to BTS, and the Asian communities across the world, is on its way."

After being called out on social media, Matthias then issued a public apology which was posted on the website of Bayern3.

"I am deeply saddened about the reactions my comments in my live show have caused – and first of all: I am very sorry and I would like to unreservedly apologize."

[#오늘의방탄] #MTVUnplugged 와 함께한 #BTS 의 첫 공개 무대들! 아미들 고막 사르르 녹았따..👂🏻 #BTSonMTV #방탄소년단 #7방탄완전소중 #인터내셔널팝케이센세이션_중략_핫백1위그래미노미네이트BTS pic.twitter.com/3ALzmDcZSm

— BTS_official (@bts_bighit) February 24, 2021

"In my presentation, I was primarily annoyed by the fact that the boy band BTS covered the song 'Fix You' by Coldplay, which I hold in high esteem. The nationality of the seven boys should not matter – mentioning it and making the connection with a virus was completely out of line."

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"I have given this a lot of thought over the past few hours and understand and accept that my words racially offended many of you, especially the Asian community. That was never my intention, but I realize that, in the end, what matters is only how words are perceived – not how they were intended," he said.