Advertisement

'The Chase's' Anne Hegerty under fire for BTS tweet

Chaser, Anne "The Governess" Hegerty on The Chase. (© ITV/Matt Frost)
Anne "The Governess" Hegerty on The Chase ( ITV/Matt Frost)

The Chase’s Anne Hegerty has landed herself in hot water with BTS fans after branding the K-pop stars “a little Korean boy band that’s fundamentally not important”.

The quizzer made the comments on Twitter as she waded into a debate about a remark made by The Economist’s Anne McElvoy.

McElvoy sparked a backlash when she wrote “Please no” about the news that the band had spoken at the UN General Assembly. She later clarified that it was in jest and said sorry, but Hegerty piped up on Twitter: “All this about a little Korean boy band that’s fundamentally not important?”

Read more: K-pop stars BTS make history as first Korean group to play at Wembley

The star – aka The Governess – quickly found herself on the wrong side of the band’s followers, who are known as “the BTS Army”.

"’Little Korean boyband’? Excuse me? Some people are ALIVE because of those 7 boys,” one person tweeted.

BTS's performance for the 2020 MTV Video Music Awards released to the media on August 31, 2020. (Photo Courtesy of MTV via Sipa USA) **MANDATORY CREDIT***EDITORIAL USE ONLY**
BTS's performance for the 2020 MTV Video Music Awards (Photo Courtesy of MTV via Sipa USA)

Another wrote: “Just because you don’t understand something doesn’t mean that it’s not important to someone else... in this case, millions of people across generations, cultures and genders worldwide.”

One Twitter user told Hegerty that BTS were fundamentally important as they were representing Asian men.

“And finally showing the world how Asian men can be sexy, aspirational, Inspirational, beautiful, fierce, talented and more,” the fan continued, saying the quizzer calling the band “little” was a “microaggression”.

“I’m so disappointed,” tweeted another fan. “I admired you, but this is beneath anyone of merit. Given the challenges these men have faced, the racism they still endure after having earned accolades worldwide - how seriously they’ve taken their platform does actually make them fundamentally important.”

Members of the K-pop band BTS are seen on stage during a live interview on NBC�s morning TODAY show at Rockefeller Plaza in New York, NY, February 21, 2020. (Photo by Anthony Behar/Sipa USA)
K-pop band BTS are seen on stage during a live interview on NBC's morning TODAY show (Anthony Behar/Sipa USA)

Read more: Attention! South Korean boyband BTS have to do military service

BTS – comprised of RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, V, Jimin and Jungkook – got together in 2010 and started unveiling music in 2013.

They are known for songs such as Boy in Luv, I Need U and Spring Day and are the best-selling artists in South Korean history.