BTS’s J-Hope Faces Fan Backlash After Posting With Pharrell Williams

Pharrell has ties to Zionism.
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ARMYs are disappointed by BTS J-Hope‘s latest Instagram post.

uarmyhope1 (1)
J-Hope | @uarmyhope/Instagram

J-Hope, who is expected to be discharged from mandatory military service next month, recently shared a couple of selfies via his Instagram account. The selfies included American musician, singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer, and fashion designer Pharrell Williams. In the caption, J-Hope indicated he and Pharrell might have collaborated on a project to be released in 2025.

 

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A post shared by jhope (@uarmyhope)

RM, who has been an outspoken fan of Pharrell for years and even collaborated for an exclusive Rolling Stone interview, also commented on the post, indicating that he is looking forward to it.

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Next year please come faster

— RM

Despite the two BTS members’ excitement, the fandom had mixed reactions.

While Pharrell is known especially for his music, some ARMYs speculate the collaboration is related to Louis Vuitton. Pharrell is the artistic director for the men’s line, and J-Hope is a global brand ambassador.

Regardless of the type of collab, many ARMYs wish J-Hope wouldn’t associate himself with Pharrell Williams. This is due to Pharrell’s ties to Zionism.

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Since October 2023, at least 41,020 Palestinians, including nearly 16,500 children, have been killed, according to Al Jazeera. More than 94,925 people have been injured, and over 10,000 are missing in Israel’s war on Gaza, with Palestinians starved, displaced, and having lost their homes, families, and friends.

Still, many stand by Israel’s actions, claiming it was justified due to Hamas’ attacks on October 7. According to Wikipedia, these attacks “killed 1,139 people, including 764 civilians and 373 Israeli security personnel. A further 251 persons were taken hostage during the initial attack on Israel to the Gaza Strip.”

Yet, others feel Hamas’ actions were also in retaliation to the long history of Israel’s mistreatment of Palestine, as Israel is technically illegally occupying Palestinian land. According to a 2017 Amnesty article, “For the last 50 years, Israel has been forcing thousands of Palestinians off their land, occupying and illegally using it to create settlements that exclusively house Jewish Israeli settlers.”

Due to this ongoing war that many now agree is a genocide of Palestine, many ARMYs wish for the BTS members to have no ties to Zionism. This includes not collaborating with persons who have stood beside Israel.

Pharrell Williams hasn’t simply expressed Zionist beliefs like some artists. In 2018, Pharrell was a special music guest at the annual FIDF Western Region Gala, celebrating Israel’s 70th anniversary. The event, which included several celebrities in attendance, reportedly raised $60 million USD for the Israeli military (also known as the Israeli Defense Force or Israeli Occupation Force) as part of a fundraiser. The Israeli military is responsible for many atrocities that netizens can’t ignore.

Many ARMYs are disappointed to see J-Hope happily associate with Pharrell Williams, knowing what Pharrell has supported.

Consequently, ARMYs are continuing to trend #HYBEDivestFromZionism and #SpeakYourselfBTS via X (formerly Twitter). Some have attempted to get the BTS members to speak up for Palestine for nearly a year. The fandom has also been urging BTS’s company, HYBE, to divest from Zionism due to Scooter Braun‘s heavy involvement.

While the BTS members might not be able to make their company remove Braun, they could choose who not to collab with. So, many ARMYs are urging J-Hope to reconsider his association with Pharrell Williams.

Many of the BTS members’ recent collaborations have triggered divided reactions within the fandom due to artists’ Zionism. Read more below.

Zionism And More: BTS Jimin’s Collaboration With Sofia Carson Divides The Fandom

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