If you're watching the MTV VMAs, you are probably not surprised that the iconic boy band BTS just took home the award for Best K-Pop against EXO, BLACKPINK, Monsta X, NCT 127, and TXT for their video "Boy With Luv" featuring Halsey. But you may not know that the most fervent K-pop stans were...not stoked about this new category, despite it being "all about the fandom," according to MTV.
Some fans, especially among the massive BTS ARMY, have been speaking out on Twitter for days over concerns that the K-pop category is just a form of xenophobia. In other words, by lumping all the South Korean acts together, they can't compete for the biggest awards of the night, even though the groups are constantly at the top of the charts, get billions of video views, and have had a huge impact on the industry this year. To draw attention to the alleged slight, fans took to Twitter using the hashtags #VMARacist and #VMAsXenophobic.
Though BTS is the only one of these bands nominated in more than one category, it's worth noting that they were nominated for Best Collaboration with Halsey, Best Choreography, and Best Art Direction.
Can you really argue with over 500 million views?!
This wouldn't be the first time the VMAs have been called out for having a blind spot when it comes to race and ethnicity. Remember back in 2017, when "Despocito" by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee was the song of the summer and broke records with over a billion views, but didn't even score one nomination? People weren't happy then, either.
Then again, although some fans pointed out that British and Aussie groups don't get their own award, the Best Latin category has been a thing at the VMAs for about a decade.
BTS didn't even make it to the awards ceremony this time around, which is stirring up even more Twitter talk. The band is on a well-deserved break, so their absence likely has nothing to do with the drama. Still, I'm pretty sure literally no one would have had a single complaint if they'd graced the red carpet with their presence. I mean, proof here.
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This article originally appeared on Cosmopolitan.com. Minor edits have been made by the Cosmo.ph editors.
