BTS fans in Pakistan were disappointed after the government took down a fan billboard for K-pop band's youngest member Jeon Jungkook on his birthday citing the boy band promotes "homosexuality".
The incident occurred after a Pakistan fan purchased a massive billboard for two days on the occasion of Jungkook's 24th birthday on September 1. The fan had commissioned a billboard of the singer to be put to at an intersection of Gujranwala city in Pakistan, according to British magazine New Musical Express.
Phrases like "Happy 24th Birthday" and "Jungkook BTS Gujranwala ARMY (the name of the boyband's fandom)" were displayed on the bright yellow advertisement, featuring a picture of Jungkook.
Local Politician Accuses BTS of Spreading 'Homosexuality'
Despite being purchased with the permission of the Chamber of Commerce, the billboard was taken down after a day. Younus Mughal, the owner of the billboard, was forced to take it down after he recovered a complaint from a provincial assembly candidate and member of the Islamist political party Jamaat-e-Islami.
"We received a lot of complaints from people. There was so much commotion. There are young people in this city. This group (BTS) has a negative influence on them and encourages them to behave in wrong activities. They promote homosexuality," assembly candidate Furqan Aziz Butt told VICE World News.
'There's Only the Pakistan Army Here'
"Why was this put up here? They don't have a brand name here nor do they sell products here. The people who put it up call themselves the Gujranwala army. There's only the Pakistan army here," added Butt.
This incident Shows How the BTS Has to Deal with Prejudices and Taboos
A report published in Study Breaks, an American magazine says, despite BTS's global popularity, there's still an overwhelming stereotype that these male idols are "girly" because of their appearance. Comments along the lines of "Oh, but they look like girls. Why do you like them?" plague fans and supporters of BTS.
There's even a boot camp in China that trains Chinese boys to be "real men" to fight the BTS idol effect, as Chinese parents are anxious about their boys becoming "sissy pants" men who wear makeup and earrings, according to the Texas-based magazine.
Fans Express Disappointment with Hashtags Like #boycottFurqanAzizButt
The removal of the billboard has definitely not gone well with the Pakistan ARMYs.
One Twitter user said, "The billboard does not promote anything at all! just sooooo handsome Jk at that! #boycottFurqanAzizButt."
Another said, "Our boys became the voice of many young people, they encourage the world to love themselves and spread positivity in this cruel world and this guy called them out for promoting homosexuality? Hope Allah gives him the ability to see the world from other's perspectives."
One comment read, "Just because the boys have make up and dances now they are called homos??! people's mentality is still ancient when it comes to this!"
The comments on the billboard were extremely racist and homophobic. This just shows how messed up peoples minds are. I just can't with my own country's people anymore. I'm so grateful I'm not living there, In pakistan you can't even express any sense of style either.
— jks's♡shasha (arsd) (@starsluvjk) September 2, 2021
