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Halsey supports BTS after radio host Matthias Matuschik's 'racist' comparison, ARMY calls her a 'real friend'

Halsey directed her comments at Matthias Matuschik and said 'This is unacceptable. I hope a better apology to BTS, and the Asian communities across the world, is on its way'

Singer-songwriter Halsey has time and again been expressive about her love for one of the biggest K-pop groups BTS and when they were recently slammed by German radio host Matthias Matuschik after their MTV unplugged performance, she extended her support to the squad in open.

The ‘Without Me’ hitmaker, who enjoys close to 24 million followers on Instagram, shared a story on her official account saying she was horrified to read the racist comments made by the radio host. Apart from Halsey, musicians Maxx and Lauv also came out to support BTS.

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‘Racism and xenophobia cannot be thinly veiled as on-air humor'

Taking to her Instagram stories, the 26-year-old crooner stated, “I am horrified to read the comments made by Matthias Matuschik. Racism and xenophobia cannot be thinly veiled as  “on-air humour”. Irresponsible and disgusting in a time where hate speech and violent behaviour towards Asian communities are skyrocketing.” She concluded, “This is unacceptable. I hope a better apology to BTS, and the Asian communities across the world, is on its way.”

For the uninitiated, Halsey and BTS worked together on the song ‘Boy with Luv’ in April 2019. The song earned the nomination for MTV Video Music Award for Best Choreography and also won Mnet Asian Music Award for Song of the Year.  

What exactly is the controversy about? 

The German radio host Matthias Matuschik passed disrespectful remarks about Grammy-nominated group BTS after their performance at MTV Unplugged where they had covered Coldplay’s song ‘Fix You.’ Matuschik, who hosts a show on station Bayern3, had also compared the K-pop group with Covid-19. The radio station had later posted a clarification 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’), which received much criticism. 

‘A few years ago, everything would’ve been pushed under a rug’

BTS Army had already roasted Matuschik for his distasteful remarks on BTS on Twitter and now they came out to applaud Halsey thanking her for taking a stand against racism. One user stated, “Thank you for speaking out @halsey @MAXMusic and @lauvsongs against the racist remarks towards BTS. #Bayern3Racism” Another stated, “The way halsey,max and lauv using their huge platforms and speaking out against the disgusting racist remarks made about bts is commendable,RACISM IS NOT AN OPINION and we will not stop speaking up until some form of appropriate action has been taken, THANK YOU SO MUCH.” The next one asserted, “Max, Lauv, and Halsey are incredible allies. A few years ago, everything would’ve been pushed under a rug so I’m thankful BTS has found real friends who can show public support and draw attention to racist remarks.”

One added, “Halsey always being the only one standing up for BTS yet Arm* still has the audacity to hate on her.” One fan posted, “I honestly was not expecting halsey to speak up cause i know how precious this pregnancy is for her & how careful she needs to be to stay away from negativity. that makes me very hopeful that she is friends w/ the boys. y'all "bare minimum" folks, please back off of her.” Another said, “I’m happy Halsey said what she said, but I’m still disappointed in so many influential people who have remained silent through this when they could have used their platform to speak up on this important matter & show support not only to BTS, but to the Asian community as a whole.” One concluded, “Actually Max and Halsey spoke up about it. At least. The others are quiet because they were only ever there for the clout. And they wonder why we're so protective of BTS.”