Matthias Matuschik, a German radio personality, recently made a series of racist comments about Korean band BTS in the wake of their historic appearance on MTV Unplugged.

Matuschik suggested that BTS should be “eradicated with a vaccine,” just like COVID-19. “These p*ssies bragged about covering ‘Fix You’ from Coldplay. This is sacrilege! They should be sent to North Korea for the next 20 years! … You can’t accuse me of xenophobia just because of this boy band. I have a car from South Korea.”

Matuschik’s comments were met with a wave of backlash from the BTS Army, the name given to fans of the group.

BTS’s US label, Columbia Records quickly showed their support for the group.

Matuschik’s employer Bayern 3, offered a lackluster apology that downplayed his comments, seemingly placing the blame on fans for standing up for the group.

These statements come at a time when anti-Asian sentiment due to COVID-19 is at an all time high in the United States and in other parts of the world.

Please visit this link for ways that you can help stop Anti-Asian racism.