New York Times Podcast Under Fire For “Racist And Xenophobic” Comments About BTS

ARMYs are calling out a New York Times podcast for racism and xenophobia.

New York Times podcast, Popcast, released an episode titled, “Jung Kook, BTS and English Language K-Pop.” It’s hosted by Jon Caramanica and guest Kara, who ARMYs have realized is behind the controversial Idolcast podcast.

A conversation about K-pop’s long march to American awareness, and the potential risks of that embrace.

— New York Times

REMINDER that the host of @/idolcast is a full blown anti, yet the NYT thinks that's an appropriate person to have on their podcast to talk shit and be racist toward JK and BTS. pic.twitter.com/Cb7q1j4BnG

— Ashley⁷ㅣ(ꪜ) 3D 💜 (@AshHamarowicz) December 3, 2023

oh there is no way THIS is who the new york times invited on a podcast to talk about bts??? with YEARS of history of saying disgusting racist fetishing things about them?? https://t.co/pCmUGAyium pic.twitter.com/eB7XYnnjsj

— yani⁷ (@stayblueandgrey) December 3, 2023

Kara refused to reveal her last name, claiming “because the stans are crazy,” and the podcasters repeatedly said, “We are adults, and we are entitled to our opinion.” ARMYs who listened to the episode described it as a “conversation between an anti and an ex-ARMY.” 

The podcast commended some K-Pop for sounding “K-Pop” while criticizing BTS for English releases, such as “Dynamite,” “Butter,” “Permission to Dance,” and even international collaboration, “MIC Drop,” with Steve Aoki, as well as BTS’s labelmates, such as TXT.

BTS Jungkook‘s recent solo debut album, GOLDEN, was highlighted, and since it’s influenced by Western pop and Jungkook sings in English, the podcasters hated it. One said that Jungkook sounded too much like Justin Timberlake, who has been a musical inspiration for him and even recently featured on a remix of “3D.”

All the writers, all the producers [are Americans], it’s an American album with a Korean face on it basically. And so I think if I was a listener that was like, ‘Oh, this is what a K-Pop guy can do; It sounds just like Justin Timberlake. Why do you need a Korean guy doing Justin Timberlake when we have Justin Timberlake? I can go see Trolls 3 right now.’ I don’t need to fly to Seoul to see Trolls 3, it’s here.

— Kara

@makellams

#greenscreenvideo #jungkook #bts and the NYT #podcast about #kpop

♬ original sound – Christine Ma-Kellams

ARMYs were shocked and appalled by this “hot take.” Many felt it was close-minded and xenophobic.

@hopeferlizz

#greenscreen BTS & Jungkook vs. the new york times podcast: A RANT. Maybe I’m just extra everything today. #bts #jungkook #btsjk #jungkookgolden #btschapter2 #bangtan #btsarmy #btsmedia #nytimes #txt #hybebighit

♬ original sound – Lizz 🐨🗯️💜📣🐿️

Kara has blocked ARMYs via The Idolcast Podcast social media account, refusing to acknowledge the criticism.

Apologize for being not only extremely unprofessional but also outright immoral @nytimes, @idolcast @joncaramanica. Take that podcast down and apologize.

A big entity such as The New York Times should never be responsible for propagating blatant racism and putting such ignorant… pic.twitter.com/toPnTcBLHL

— Jungkook Indonesia 🇮🇩 (@Jungkooknesia) December 3, 2023

Apologize for being not only extremely unprofessional but also outright immoral @nytimes, @idolcast @joncaramanica. Take that podcast down and apologize.

A big entity such as The New York Times should never be responsible for propagating blatant racism and putting such ignorant… pic.twitter.com/oY0rkdkRFf

— JK DAILYʲᵏ (@Daily_JKUpdate) December 3, 2023

I just read about this disgusting racist/xenophobic podcast published by the New York Times and conveniently the podcast account @idolcast preemptively blocked me? And probably any/all army accounts. That should tell you all you need to know… pic.twitter.com/NmbqoNEhdS

— steph⁷ 💜 (@sas10f) December 3, 2023

Still, ARMYs are continuing to call out the New York Times and the host for racism and xenophobia in this podcast episode. They’re demanding an apology.

It's beyond frustrating that a New York Times podcast, for the paper of record, can feature a host and guest who make so many assertions about K-Pop and/or idol music without backing them up with sources, data, expert insight, or interviews. Culture reporting is still reporting.

— Delia Harrington (@DeliaMary) December 4, 2023

Let the world know.
i need 100 cmnts:

NEW YORK TIMES SUPPORTS RACISM
NEW YORK TIMES ENCOURAGE XENOPHOBIA#NewYorkTimesRacist @nytimes

— JK Radio Updater ᴳᴼᴸᴰᴱᴺ (@JKRadioUpdater) December 3, 2023

The New York Times Podcast about Jungkook and him releasing a full English album is racist as fck! They basically say “Golden is a mix of westernized English songs, what's the point of having a Korean person sing them?”.

— Sha | GCF 🗼 2.0 (@satellitekkyu) December 3, 2023

We Demand An Apology NOW! From The @nytimes @nytimesarts @joncaramanica @idolcast & “Kara” For The Asian Community, #JungKook, & #BTS! This Disgusting Display Of Racism & Xenophobia Cannot Be Tolerated!••••••• NEW YORK TIMES ENCOURAGE XENOPHOBIA #NewYorkTimesRacist pic.twitter.com/rWACcK8SK2

— Tyga ⁷ (@RockstarParris) December 4, 2023

Currently, the podcast episode is still up, and it says it’s the “Most shared” on Spotify. So, the New York Times likely got what they wanted and won’t respond to the criticism.