Wow. Literally a week after Nicki Minaj had to pull out of a S.A show due to backlash, Big Hit do this? What the fuck?

I'll be the first person to tell you that there's no such thing as a clean government, considering what the U.S has done to my country but for BigHit to send their group who are UN AMBASSADORS, advocate for anti-violence and base a big chunk of their marketing/image off of being for equality and being politically active to a country where LGBT people are given death penalties, migrant worker abuse is rampant, women are murdered for being rape victims or wanting to drive is so unspeakably awful and callous.I get they have Arab fans who want to see them but the message this gives off is pretty horrible.I'd be just as angry if a group chose to perform in Israel or Bahrain.

Edited at 2019-07-14 11:02 am (UTC)

BigHit suddenly releasing additional concert dates is making me both hopeful and anxious.

I am ready to disgrace my eyeballs with the hot takes that this will generate.

I don't feel very good about this. I am happy for the fans and I don't blame them for being excited and I also don't blame the guys, but....still. You cannot ignore the nuances involved in performing in a country under a regime such as Saudi Arabia's, and while there is no way to say that any other country is necessarily more good (ie the US- there is definitely some pretty fucked up shit happening there), there are still very palpable differences in freedom of expression and protest that directly contrast with the message the band brings about. Not to mention...there will still be money that goes towards the government from their concert.


Also, definitely not here for the "Let's not make this political!! It's a kpop concert gosh" message that I've been seeing around social media. So BTS can be made UN ambassadors (The UN being an inter-governmental initiative for peace) for a great cause, but when their company decides to perform in a country under a theocracy we suddenly can't bring political discourse into it? This is worth discussing, and not just some way to rag on the members themselves.

Edited at 2019-07-14 12:27 pm (UTC)

I’m glad Arab fans get a chance to see them too!

fucking yikes

let's note that saudi arabia is well on course for a record number of executions this year since 37 men were executed in one day in april!

The Hot takes whew. I’m from the US. We currently have for profit prisons that harbor more Black & Brown people than the percentage of the population. We currently have for profit concentration camps that separate family from children. We give money to countries like SA we have arms deals with SA. We use oil from these countries to fuel our economy our cars our white privileged life styles. We’ve destroyed numerous counties under the guise of keeping weapons of mass destruction from others. We destabilize regions that now have famine and war so we can keep an iron fist on a region with oil. Sure we treat our Whites ok. But if you’re black or brown watch out or you get shot in the street. So please spare me your Hot takes on the terrible Brown Muslim people that you only decided you cared about because of a Kpop concert. A Kpop concert you had no problem with when they were in the US, France etc. their governments have committed & still to this day commit atrocity’s they just do it in other countries like Syria, Yemen with brown Muslims etc.. The white nice majority Christian people aren’t responsible for their governments actions & can have an economy & have concerts but the brown people must be boycotted so they realize their government is bad.

Girls dancing in a stadium in saudi arabia? You can't stop fangirls. You just can't. I'm both frightened because there's going to be personal dramas along this simple event, but I'm also all for it. Why shouldn't all of them be allowed to celebrate music and have fun? Let it be. If we keep those girls and fans isolated, it's worst imo. Let it be light even if it's just a concert.

I'm happy people side-eye this concert and aren't all happy and smiles about it. I know that it's almost impossible to find a country that isn't problematic, but I just can't help but judge everyone that visit (and thus support) Saudi Arabia or the VAE.

Edited at 2019-07-14 03:05 pm (UTC)

The selective outrage is fun as per usual. Kpop is an industry subsidized by the government to make money and create soft power for South Korea. Super Junior and Stray Kidz performed in Saudia Arabia a few days ago. Where was the clutching of Pearls and horror at human rights violations? There was also a concert in Russia in 2018 by Got7. Where was the outrage. Human Rights violations galore No freedom of the press LGBTQ repression etc.. Jailing and murder of political opponents. Poisoning on foreign soil of journalists. Whats different about Saudia Arabia? Muslims & brown people? Again white people are not responsible for their governments but hijab wearing brown people are. Check

Damn I’m still waiting on the Latin America dates

i've been saying it since they adopted this "woke" concept, this is gonna bite them in the ass.

Lbr they're (BH) are over the UNICEF ambassadors thing, which is sad because RMs speech was truly heartfelt and tascended the world and gave them a lot, including the Next Generation Leaders name in Time.

They accomplished so much with partnering up with the UN, but it seems they (BH) no longer care, and it's bullshit for the guys because they seemed genuinely happy during all of it.

This and no Latam dates is disappointing

Edited at 2019-07-14 05:30 pm (UTC)

corporations gonna corporation