Kendis Gibson has not responded to the backlash, days after he came under fire for his comments about BTS (Bangtan Boys). Despite endless demands from the fans of the group on his Twitter account, he seems to have no intention of apologizing for making rude comments about the “IDOL” singers.
The ABC News anchor, however, noticed on his tweets the numerous comments left by ARMYs. But he appeared to laugh at the reactions of the fans instead of showing remorse. “This thread lmfao,”This thread is lmfao,”hilarious.”Hilarious.
Kendis Gibson laughs at the complaints made by the ARMYs about his rude comments.
As previously reported, after he belittled BTS during a report about the band’s speech at the United Nations General Assembly last month, Gibson attracted the ire of K-Pop fans. Commenting on footage of the inspiring speech by RM (Rap Monster), he sarcastically said, “That’s so poetic.”
As his co-anchor Stephanie Ramos sought to point out the importance of the message of the party, Gibson diminished it by claiming, “It’s a boyband from Korea” who “got choreographed dance moves.” He also ridiculed the dance of the “Fake Love” hitmaker by suggesting that “fans are used to seeing the boys spreading their legs” on stage and in their music videos.
Offended fans have taken Gibson to his Twitter account to slam them. Many referred to him as “unprofessional” and called him out for not doing enough group research, while some others accused him of “xenophobia” and “racism.”
On Change.org, an online petition has even been launched demanding an apology from the anchor. The petitioner points out that Gibson did “in a disgustingly demeaning and belittling way.” reporting on the BTS speech at the UN.
“Kendis Gibson was erroneous and beyond disrespectful in his reporting of BTS’ UN GA speech,” the petition states. “The fact that he also kept reducing BTS as a boy band from ‘Korea’ clearly projected that he had a racially-tinged and xenophobic bias against them.”
“His inappropriate remarks reflected his own intolerance and narrowmindedness, but worse of all, he broadcasted them live on national TV. This is the epitome of unprofessionalism,” it continues. “We now demand a formal and sincere apology from Kendis Gibson. Whether one is a BTS fan or not, what he did was wrong and now he needs to apologize.”
The petition is similar to completing its target of collecting 500 signatures.