BTS Subjected to Anti-Asian Jokes in Racist Comedy Sketch

Over the weekend, Mi Barrio faced intense backlash thanks to a "comedy" skit that mocked their accents, featured gibberish "Korean," and referred to K-pop group's members as "Kim Jong-Uno," "Kim Jong-Dos," "Kim Jong-Tres," "Kim Jong-Cuatro" and "Juan Carlos."

Related | The Deeper Racial Implications of Comparing BTS to COVID-19

But aside from the overtly racist nature of these so-called "jokes," The New York Times also noted that the sketch led to a larger discussion under the trending #RacismIsNotComedy hashtag about dangerous xenophobic rhetoric during a time where anti-Asian hate crimes have skyrocketed.

[THREAD] Last night, Chilean comedy TV show #MiBarrio (open TV channel available to the whole country) presented a parody performance of BTS, where all the jokes were based on racism and xenophobia, including mockery of their language, (cont.)

video cr; isidoradae pic.twitter.com/tBK8CYbbKs

— BTS Chile (@BTS_Chile) April 11, 2021

There is NOTHING funny about racism, especially in a time where Asian hate crimes have been rampant around the world. This is disgusting...#ElRacismoNoEsComedia #RacismIsNotComedy https://t.co/YniwOK2CGS

— ᴮᴱ💜MinKittenPD⁷| SoloManti Myth Buster💜FILM OUT (@MinKittenPD) April 11, 2021

Anti-Asian racism is not comedy! #MiBarrio needs to be held accountable for promoting dangerous racist beliefs on Chilean TV.

We demand an apology to BTS and the Asian community. #ElRacismoNoEsComedia

— BTS Graphs ⁷ (@BTS_graphs) April 11, 2021

A person's culture and language should never be subjected to mockery and used as "humour". Do not brand racist actions as comedy when it's clearly being used to mock and incite hatred & racism. @Mega#MiBarrio #mibarriomegaRACISTA #ElRacismoNoEsComedia#RacismIsNotComedy

— (semi-ia)ㄱ노미팬달콤뀨(slow) (@lovemazejikook) April 12, 2021

In response to the online scrutiny, Mi Barrio subsequently issued a lukewarm Instagram statement in which they said they would "continue to improve, learn, listen and strengthen our intention: to bring entertainment to families." Granted, it seems as if ARMY is (rightfully) unimpressed by the post, with some accusing the show of trying to excuse the skit by essentially saying that "'humor helps people deal with the difficult times of the pandemic.'"

Hello, we come to you with an update. #MiBarrio has posted in ther Instagram account the following text.

We think that they won't release an apology and that they don't feel their actions are wrong. We understood from their instagram post they still believe that [cont+] pic.twitter.com/vevYcelLVE

— BTS Chile (@BTS_Chile) April 11, 2021

They really said that "humor helps people deal with the difficult times of the pandemic that we're going through". So they're just admitting that racism is a joke for them :/#ElRacismoNoEsComedia #MiBarrio https://t.co/B46GYIJ1oK

— D𝐚wn⁷ (@JeonsBlueSide) April 12, 2021

Unfortunately though, the Mi Barrio incident isn't the first time BTS has been made the butt of racist "jokes." Most notably, a German radio host named Matthias Matuschik came under fire early last month for comments comparing the group to the coronavirus.

BTS has yet to comment on this latest situation, though the band previously detailed "moments when we faced discrimination as Asians" in the aftermath of the Atlanta spa shootings.

"We have endured expletives without reason and were mocked for the way we look. We were even asked why Asians spoke English," BTS wrote at the time. "We cannot put into words the pain of becoming the subject of hatred and violence for such a reason. Our own experiences are inconsequential compared to the events that have occurred over the past few weeks. But these experiences were enough to make us feel powerless and chip away at our self esteem."

Photo via Getty / Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic