12 hours ago
BTS' Jungkook's hat controversy sparks backlash against RM and aespa's Giselle, find out why
BTS member Jungkook was under fire for donning a cap with a political message during his soundcheck sessions for his act in J-Hope's HOPE ON THE STAGE FINAL day 1 concert. As the matter escalated, he personally apologized on Weverse, however, the issue is far from over. Recently, some other artists like RM and Giselle were dragged into the same controversy, with the surfacing of their past photos featuring similar accessories.
RM dragged in Jungkook's hat controversy
After Jungkook faced intense backlash for wearing a 'Make Japan Great Again' hat, fans began digging up similar incidents involving other artists. They uncovered a 2023 Instagram post featuring BTS leader RM in a 'Make Comedy Great Again' hat, which became the first image to resurface amid Jungkook's controversy. X users shared the post, with some adding sarcastic comments, "the most educated k-pop idol," poking fun at his high IQ and intellectual image.
Besides him, aespa member Giselle was also dragged in for a similar controversy.
aespa's Giselle dragged in Jungkook's hat controversy
Hashtags like MAGASELLE and MAGAESPA trended on social media as a past video clip of Giselle was circulated online. It features the same black cap as RM, with the same message. For those unaware with the 'MAGA' trend going, it is an abbreviation for 'Make America Great Again', a slogan formulated by Donald Trump and later spared to other ring-winger politicians of nations like South Korea and Japan.
Giselle was labelled "problematic", and faced greater hate because another aespa member, Karina, recently faced intense online scrutiny for sporting an alleged right-wing inclined jacket.
Fans defended RM and aespa's Giselle in hat controversy
Some fans felt that bringing up the past and drawing hate towards RM and Giselle were okay attempts by Jungkook stans to shift attention from his political scandal. They said that, "It's pretty obvious that his (RM's) and Giselle's caps have a glaring difference between JK's current controversy, stop covering it up if you want to grow other controversies."
They acknowledged that the duo's hats drew inspiration from MAGA, but also stressed on the glaring difference between one that included a country's name (in case of Jungkook) and the other being an inspired-version and using the word 'comedy'.
