FILA And Samsung China Delete BTS-Related Posts And Products After RM’s Speech Sparks Controversy

… all the while Chinese netizens continue to demand an apology.

Following BTS‘s James A. Van Fleet Award acceptance speech on October 9, which mentioned the Korean War, Chinese netizens came to criticize the group for “being insensitive“.

BTS | @bts_bighit/Twitter

In his speech, RM spoke of the “70th anniversary of the Korean War” and commemorated “the sacrifices of countless men and women.

The speech triggered a string of reactions on Twitter and other social media platforms, calling out BTS for “hurting the Chinese fans’ feelings” and “negating history“.

While Big Hit Entertainment is still yet to respond, the criticism has now reportedly led to brands like Samsung China and FILA China take noticeable action. For one, Samsung China has apparently removed its BTS-related product, the Galaxy S20+, from the official website…

Galaxy S20+ showing up as unavailable on Samsung’s site. | @柚子娱乐/Weibo

#SamsungChinaBTS Bloggers discovered that Samsung China is currently taking down all BTS-related products. This attitude is upright.

— Weibo User

… and FILA China has also removed its previous BTS-related posts from its official Weibo account. The brand’s announcement of the group’s endorsement (left) has now been deleted (right), yielding in a “No Result Found” page.

| @FILA China/Weibo

Chinese netizens have trended “FILA’s official Weibo clears out all BTS related content” and “Samsung China BTS” at #21 and #27…

“FILA’s official Weibo clears out all BTS related content”. | Weibo
“Samsung China BTS”. | Weibo

… as they remain disappointed and pushing for an apology.

| Weibo

BTS is over.

— Weibo User

Watch BTS’s James A. Van Fleet Award acceptance speech here:

BTS