BTS Donates $1 Million to Black Lives Matter, ARMY MATCHES Donation the Next Day
BTS and their record label Big Hit Entertainment have donated $1 million to Black Lives Matter in support of U.S. protesters fighting against police brutality in the wake of George Floyd’s death,
Why this is a big deal: BTS is one of the biggest music acts in the world coming from South Korea. Last year, Forbes reported that the group made $57 million in 2018, making them the highest paid boy-band in the world. Local media has also reported that the global popularity of the group brings in over $4.6 billion annually to South Korea’s local economy.
The details: The funds were transferred earlier this week and Black Lives Matter confirmed receipt on Friday. No further comments have been made by the band nor record label on the donations at this time.
“Black people all over the world are in pain at this moment from the trauma of centuries of oppression. We are moved by the generosity of BTS and allies all over the world who stand in solidarity in the fight for Black lives,” Kailee Scales, managing director for Black Lives Matter, told Variety.
BTS ARMY unleashes their powers: Almost immediately after the donation was announced, BTS fans who are known as “ARMY”, an acronym for Adorable Representative MC for Youth, started the #MatchAMillion campaign to match the donation.
- “One in an ARMY”, a project made up of volunteers known for raising money for charitable projects by sourcing donations from the large BTS fandom, launched the campaign on the evening of June 6.
- By around 8:45 p.m. EST, donations surpassed $1 million, according to project twitter account who also tracked the donations in real-time.
Other stars are showing support: Last week, 2NE1’s CL made an Instagram post urging the industry to recognize the influence of Black artists and creators in K-pop. Other Korean celebrities who’ve shown support or made donations include Jay Park, GOT7’s Mark Tuan, DAY6’s Jae, Crush, Tiger JK, and DeVita.
Feature image via FLICKR
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