BTS Aren’t the First Musicians Tucker Carlson Has Called Out

Last week, just hours after BTS visited the White House to discuss anti-Asian discrimination and Asian inclusion and representation with President Joe Biden, Fox News commenter Tucker Carlson snidely mocked the K-pop-pol summit.

“Things have gotten very bad for Joe Biden, both public-facing and internally,” he told viewers. “What are they doing about it? Well, they broke glass in case of emergency and invited a Korean pop group to speak at the White House today.”

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“Yeah, so we got a Korean pop group to discuss anti-Asian hate crimes in the United States. Okay. Good job, guys,” he continued, later suggesting that inviting the international superstars to Washington was working to “degrade” the country. As expected, BTS’ loyal fanbase ARMY went after Carlson on Twitter.

Carlson’s disparaging remarks about BTS are hardly the first time he had ignited or taken part in a feud with a celebrity. See below for every time the conservative commentator has gone head-to-head with a musician.

June 2020: Lil Nas X, Janelle Monáe, Kehlani, Harry Styles and Halsey

In the midst of the Black Lives Matter protests nationwide following the tragic murder of George Floyd at the hands of police, Carlson featured a scrolling list of celebrity names over footage of protesting, suggesting the actors and musicians are “funding this chaos” by giving funds to Black Lives Matter and other organizations that pay to get “violent rioters out of jail.”

On the list were artists like Lil Nas X, Janelle Monáe, Kehlani, Harry Styles and Halsey. “Rapper Lil Nas X urged his 4.7 million Twitter followers to donate to bail groups in Chicago, New York, Philadelphia and elsewhere,” Carlson said. “Imagine if he had used those followers instead to help small businesses destroyed by the riots he helped incite.”

In response, the “Industry Baby” star took to Twitter to defend himself. “this man just lied and told millions of people on national television that i was inciting riots. you can’t make this up,” Lil Nas X tweeted alongside a clip of Carlson’s accusatory segment.

Seth Rogan, who was also called out by Carlson, replied to Lil Nas’ tweet, writing, “F— this pasty asshole.” Halsey in turn responded to Rogan’s reply, tweeting, “Ahh my fellow ‘Domestic terrorists’. F— Fox News.”

May 2022: John Legend

In a series of pointed tweets, John Legend took aim at the conservative network’s star for what he said was Carlson’s poisoning of his viewers’ minds. The tweets appeared to be a reaction to the racially motivated mass shooting in Buffalo, New York, in which the alleged perpetrator referred to a discredited racist theory, the “great replacement,” that has been a common theme on Carlson’s show.

“Tucker and similar proponents of this evil ideology continue to poison the minds of millions,” tweeted Legend. “They have contributed to multiple terrorist massacres and will continue to do so. This is sickening and dangerous. This should not be on a major cable network.” The tweet included a link to a supercut of Carlson’s frequent promotion of the “replacement” conspiracy theory, which the suspect in the Buffalo shooting allegedly referred to a number of times in a manifesto he left behind. Proponents of the theory, which is commonly claimed by white supremacist and anti-immigration groups, believe that the U.S. is being overtaken by non-white people who are being brought in to “replace” white voters to achieve political goals.

May 2022: BTS

BTS joined White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on May 31 to share a heartfelt testimony against the devastating rise of Asian-targeted hate crimes in the United States for AAPI Heritage Month. “Things have gotten very bad for Joe Biden, both public-facing and internally,” Carlson said. “What are they doing about it? Well, they broke glass in case of emergency and invited a Korean pop group to speak at the White House today.”

“Yeah, so we got a Korean pop group to discuss anti-Asian hate crimes in the United States. Okay. Good job, guys,” he added, later doubling-down by suggesting that inviting the global superstars to Washington was helping to “degrade” the country.

While BTS haven’t publicly commented on Carlson’s remarks at the time of publication, the ARMY flooded his feed, slamming him for his words.

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