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BTS Racism Row: Is Bayern3 gaslighting after Covid-19 remark? Fans ask why radio host isn't 'fired already'

A few threads on Twitter observed that German radio station Bayern3 had liked a tweet that said that it had apologized for the issue

Looks like the BTS racism row concerning a German radio host is not slowing down anytime soon as the BTS Army has taken the responsibility to make sure this gets sorted out at the earliest. After German radio host Matthias Matuschik made disrespectful remarks about the Grammy-nominated group, it now appears that instead of issuing a proper apology, Matuschik’s radio station Bayern3 is gaslighting the issue.

The loyal fans stormed Twitter to make sure the issue doesn’t die down. Musicians such as Halsey, Steve Aoki, Maxx and Lauv came forward in support of BTS after Matuschik compared the K-pop band to Covid-19 after their performance at MTV Unplugged where they had covered Coldplay’s song ‘Fix You’. He had also stated that BTS deserves a vacation in North Korea and wondered when a vaccine would arrive against the group. 

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Is Bayern3 gaslighting after coronavirus remark?

The German radio station Bayern3 was trending over the weekend when a few threads on Twitter observed that the station had liked a tweet that spoke about how Bayern3 had apologized for the issue. This raised questions over them gaslighting the entire matter. The radio station had posted a clarification after Matuschik’s controversial remarks that read, “Host Matthias Matuschik voiced his personal opinion on the very successful South Korean band BTS and their cover of ‘Fix You’ of Coldplay in ‘MTV Unplugged’ and many of you complained about this. It is the nature of the broadcast and the host to clearly, openly and unflatteringly voice his opinion.”

Matuschik is a radio show host, comedian and a former DJ who is also known by the nickname Matuschke. The 56-year-old started his career in 1989 and started moderating programs for Bayern3 after 1998. This is not the first time Matuschke has received criticism for saying something disrespectful or problematic. In July 2015, he moderated a show, ‘The Wolfratshausen River Festival’, where he compared the creation of smoking areas with anti-Semitic coercive measures — "like a square of Jews", he had said. This received much criticism too. 

‘They are just waiting for the hashtags to drop down’

BTS, who enjoys a massive fan following, got tremendous support over the ongoing racism row. BTS Army rushed to Twitter to make sure the conversation continues on social media. One person tweeted, “STOP JUSTIFYING RACISM @bayern3 stop saying it’s just fans, stop gaslighting and acknowledge it. the whole world is calling you out and we need Matthias Matuschik to be held accountable @bayern3.” Another shared, “Racism is not an opinion. Excusing and justifying racism as freedom of speech is inexcusable. Using your platform to spread racial hate is despicable, unacceptable and, yes, incredibly racist.” One added, “They are just waiting for the hashtags to drop down and everybody to forget about it so that man can get back on air and continue his job like nothing ever happened,, keep trending these tags #GermanMEDIA_racism #DeutscheMEDIEN_Rassismus #Bayern3_racism.”

The next one posted, “To be cut throat honest, I’m not sure why the man was not fired already. there is a huge difference between having an opinion, and speaking maliciously. this crossed the line. show humanity w/ justice.” One asserted, “Big western artists called it out as racism, non Asian celebrities called it out for racism, rival fandoms of both Asian and non-Asian artists called it out for racism, big journalism brands like Forbes, #Bayern3Racist and German media still laugh it off and paint us as fanatics.” Echoing everyone’s sentiments, one concluded, “We started the conversation. They don’t want to continue it. Let’s keep holding up that mirror until Germany acknowledges this racist xenophobic language is NOT HERE TO STAY.”