"It makes me uncomfortable": K-pop idol Holland addresses a comment about the BTS' ship TaeKook during his recent Instagram live

On Wednesday, November 1, the first openly gay K-pop idol, Holland, went live on Instagram to spend some time with his fans and was actively interacting with the comments sent during the livestream. One question popped up during the session, asking him whether he was aware of the BTS' ship, TaeKook, which is an amalgamation of the two members' names, V (Kim Taehyung) and Jung Kook.

In response to this, the idol asked fans to refrain from asking such questions on whether certain people in the industry belong to the LGBTQ+ community or not since it can be disrespectful to them.

He said,

"It can be disrespectful to them, and it makes me uncomfortable."

However, since he specifically mentioned the name TaeKook while talking about a wider discourse, some ARMYs were not happy about the same and called him out for picking out ships since it could harm the BTS members. Soon after, Holland uploaded an apology through his Instagram story addressing his actions.

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Netizens displeased with the K-pop idol Holland having to apologize for picking out the BTS' ship, TaeKook

Veteran K-pop fans would be aware of the ongoing tradition in the industry where members of a group or certain K-pop idols are paired together and shipped regardless of whether they are in a romantic relationship or not. Many people have been against this notion since it not only disrespects them but also stands as a breach of privacy since their s*xual orientations are unveiled to the masses.

One of the many existing ships is between V and Jung Kook whose close friendship is often fantasized by some of their fans. However, many ARMYs have been condemning the fact and have discouraged strong shippers in the fandom. During Holland's livestream, there was a possible TaeKook shipper in the comments who asked the idol whether he was aware of it or not.

Upon reading the comment out loud, the idol paused for a while, shook his head, and continued to say the following.

"Please don’t ask me about whether ‘TaeKook’ or any other K-pop male idols are gay or dating. It can be disrespectful to them, and it makes me uncomfortable. I don’t want to know who might be LGBTQ+ in the K-pop industry, and even if I did, I wouldn’t want to discuss it."

Holland also posted this video on his social media platforms including X and TikTok to bring more attention to the harmful shipping behavior, which was later deleted.

While many fans felt that he said the right thing and calling out shippers like that was necessary, there were some fans who felt that talking about one particular ship was disrespectful. Therefore, Holland soon released an apology statement through his Instagram stories.

The message explained that he was apologetic about mentioning a specific group and singling out a particular ship, and confessed that since he's received several such questions about other K-pop idols' s*xual orientation, the question both stressed and frustrated him.

While the idol ended his statement by saying that he'll strive to be more mature in the future, several ARMYs were displeased with the fact that he even had to apologize and defend the idol.

Since there was nothing disrespectful or demeaning about the BTS members he mentioned during his livestream and was only calling out the behavior of shippers, fans felt that an apology was not required and that what Holland said was valid and right.

Check out what the fans said after the K-pop idol's apology:

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Following this, fans have been supportive of Holland's stance and have been continuing to discourage and condemn the prevalent shipping behavior in the K-pop industry.