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On August 19, ARMYs noticed a suspicious user lurking on the fan community platform Weverse. This anonymous person made death threats to members Jimin and Taehyung.
The post referenced their upcoming Busan concert where the anonymous person threatened to get rid of Taehyung from “Jikook’s Lives”. Here, the term “Jikook” is the ship name for members Jimin and Jung Kook. In addition, the tweet showed a picture of a gun where an anonymous netizen threatened to physically assault Taehyung at the free Busan concert.
Trigger Warning: The following piece contains details regarding online abuse and violence in the case of BTS members Jimin and Taehyung. Readers’ discretion is advised.
ARMYs noticed the threatening post and immediately raised the alarm on social media, tagging HYBE’s official social media accounts to seek protection for Jimin and Taehyung.
Moreover, not only Taehyung, but even Jimin is getting death threats on Weverse with graphic images of guns and blood referenced in the triggering post, causing ripples of fear and anxiety amongst ARMYs.
ARMYs concern over the 95 liners and mass reporting on Twitter
BTS’ Jimin and Taehyung received death threats on Weverse, and ARMYs have demanded HYBE take action against haters and naysayers.
To give our readers context of what caused this issue on Weverse. BTS members have been chosen as honorary ambassadors for the World Expo 2030 to be held in Busan. The septet, HYBE, and the Korean government have decided to work in tandem to help Korea win the bid. It was later announced that BTS will be hosting a global concert in Busan sometime in mid-October to showcase Korea’s cultural diversity.
There is also talk of it being a free concert, but nothing has been confirmed on that front yet as discussions are in full swing, and an official announcement regarding this will be made at a later date.
But this has not stopped some fans and anti-fans from creating chaos. Prior to the official news regarding the free concert, some users have made it their personal agenda to give death threats to the singers. Such a situation is partially guided by the fact that some fans are intolerant of other BTS ships or members who are not their favorites.
Following this, ARMYs have swung into action and are mass reporting these hateful accounts to HYBE, demanding immediate action against the haters.
Fans agree that “shipping” Bangtan members is getting toxic, and this is unacceptable. It is high time that others in the fandom understand that the members are individuals in their own right and have the freedom to live however they want. Moreover, Jimin and Taehyung are close friends, but pairing them romantically is demeaning to their individual importance.
Fans are hoping that HYBE files a criminal complaint against these haters to protect members Jimin and Taehyung.
BTS’ ARMY are awaiting HYBE’s official response on the matter
While ARMYs have raised the alarm regarding the recent developments, there has been no official statement from HYBE as of yet.
HYBE is known for taking strict and timely action to protect their artists from haters and naysayers, and fans are hoping that they will file a legal and criminal complaint against these threatening messages.
In late June, HYBE shared an update about taking strict legal action against the violation of the artists’ right. The statement read:
“Our company regularly initiates legal proceedings against perpetrators of malicious activities related to BTS, including defamation, personal attacks, sexual harassment, the spread of groundless information, and ill-intentioned criticism. We would like to provide an update on these activities.”
They also advised fans to report any malicious or threatening activity directly to their official email address.
Talking a little more about their October concert in Busan, it was reported that Bangtan members might be holding a large-scale global concert free of charge for fans worldwide.
HYBE is also planning to stream the concert on a global streaming app for the sake of international fans who can enjoy the concert from the comfort of their homes.
While most fans rejoiced at the idea of a free concert, some wondered about the viability of the situation. However, after seeing these life-threatening messages towards Jimin and Taehyung, fans are hoping HYBE drops the idea of a free concert to protect them.
This will be Bangtan's first concert in their home country since "Permission to Dance On Stage" in March in Seoul.
BTS earns multiple nominations at the 2022 MTV VMAs
Bangtan has bagged multiple nominations at the 2022 MTV VMAs which include - “Best K-Pop” for title track Yet to Come from anniversary-anthology album Proof, “Best Choreography” for Permission to Dance, “Best Metaverse Performance” for Minecraft, and “Best Visual Effects” for their hit collab My Universe with Coldplay.
They have also been nominated in the “Group of the Year” category and Jung Kook also earned his first solo nomination in the “Song of the Summer” category for Left and Right alongside Charlie Puth.
The 2022 MTV Video Music Awards will air live on August 28 at 8 pm ET.
