German Radio Station Sparks Outrage After Comparing BTS to a ‘Virus’ Over Coldplay Cover

Bayern 3, a radio station in Bavaria state in southeast Germany, released the apology on Feb. 26 after its host, Matthias Matuschik, shared his opinion on BTS’ cover of Coldplay’s “Fix You” that fans deemed as racist, according to the Associated Press.

In the apology, the station said Matuschik was “presenting his opinion in an ironic, exaggerated way and with exaggerated excitement, his words went too far and hurt the feelings of BTS fans.”

Offending BTS fans, also known as ARMY, was never his intention, the apology continued to explain, adding the host wanted to express his “displeasure” over the cover.

“That does not change the fact that many of you found his statements to be hurtful or racist,” the station said. “We apologize for this in every way possible. We will work on the matter with Matthias and the team in detail again in the next few days.”

On Feb. 24, Matuschik played the group’s cover of “Fix You.” After the song ended, he critiqued the piece by describing it as “blasphemy” and compared BTS to “some crappy virus that hopefully there will be a vaccine for soon as well.”

“I have nothing against South Korea. You can’t accuse me of xenophobia only because this boy band is from South Korea … I have a car from South Korea. I have the coolest car around,” the host said at the time.

He then suggested the group “will be vacationing in North Korea for the next 20 years” for their song cover.

Many fans were outraged by the host’s comment, News18 reported.

Other artists, including Halsey, Steve Aoki and Zara Larsson, have also called out Matuschik’s comment, Billboard reported.

“Ewwww I just heard that clip of the radio presenter,” Larsson tweeted. “First of all, you f—ed up the second you mentioned BTS. Army’s don’t play like that. And I hope you will never sleep peacefully again, knowing you ruined your career over being racist. I stand with my friends.”

Singer-songwriter Halsey called the commentary “racist and xenophobic” while also adding an apology to BTS and Asian communities should be forthcoming, according to her Instagram Stories.

“Racism and xenophobia cannot be thinly veiled as ‘on air humor.’ Irresponsible and disgusting statements in a time where hate speech and violent behavior towards Asian communities are skyrocketing,” she wrote.

Feature Images via Ordercrazy (left), MTV UK (right, screenshot)