In the latest broadcast of his talk show, the TV host made a joke comparing coronavirus variants to the boy band craze of the late 1990s. He began by saying, ŌĆ£These variants, all the different variants in the world right now, it reminds me of the boy bands in the late ŌĆÖ90s and early 2000s.ŌĆØ He continued, ŌĆ£You had the big ones like Backstreet Boys and NSYNC, and then that mutated into O-Town and 98 Degrees. The JoBros popped up, Big Time Rush, they kept splitting off in different directions, eventually One Direction. And they took pieces, and it popped up all over the world until eventually, we get to one thatŌĆÖs so contagious it destroys all life on earth.ŌĆØ
Although the late-night host did not specifically mention BTS by their name, many fans and watchers agree that the reference is evident, mainly because he made similar comments with Ashley Park last week. Ashley recently performed a cover of BTSŌĆÖ ŌĆ£DynamiteŌĆØ on the Netflix show Emily in Paris Āand revealed that she caught COVID around when RM and V of the group praised her performance, which she mistook for a visceral reaction to being excited. ŌĆ£You thought it was BTS fever,ŌĆØ Jimmy responded. ŌĆ£TheyŌĆÖre both very dangerous; youŌĆÖre lucky to come out of those alive.ŌĆØ
ARMY and others are outraged by the comparison made by the host because BTS has frequently been targeted for xenophobic jokes, particularly with COVID. This isnŌĆÖt the first time Jimmy Kimmel has been called out for making anti-Asian remarks. Five years ago, he was embroiled in controversy for making racist comments on an Asian womanŌĆÖs name. Four years before that, he aired a program where he advocated for ŌĆ£killing everyone in ChinaŌĆØ to solve the US debt crisis. In response, people protested, prompting Jimmy and ABC to apologize. Source (1)
