Frank Ocean's 'Bad Religion' triggers trouble for BTS's RM-BLACKPINK's Jisoo
On Wednesday, BTS's member RM shared a song on his Instagram Story. A perfectly normal activity, except it has now caused unrest on social media because people aren't pleased with his choice of song. The song was Bad Religion by Frank Ocean, which, over the years, has been slammed for its alleged Islamophobic undertones. BLACKPINK's Jisoo was trolled for the same reason in April.
These are the alleged controversial lyrics
Before proceeding, it's pertinent to look at the disputed lyrics: "He said 'Allahu Akbar' I told him, 'Don't curse me,' 'Bo Bo, you need prayer'... I guess it couldn't hurt me. If it brings me to my knees, it's a bad religion. Ooh, this unrequited love to me, it's nothin' but a one-man cult." The conversation is between a taxi driver and a passenger.
People believe that Ocean singled out Islam in his song
While a section of fans maintain that Bad Religion is about unrequited homosexual love, another section takes offense over "Allahu Akbar (God is great)," implying that the driver is Muslim. When the passenger says, "Don't curse me," it's interpreted as a dig toward Islam since it doesn't sanction homosexual relationships, and "bring to my knees" reportedly refers to Islam since Muslims kneel during namaz.
Now, people want RM to apologize right away
As soon as a section of netizens caught sight of his Story, they started targeting RM for "not being aware enough" and "disrespecting Islam." A Muslim X user tweeted, "No one can disrespect Islam. This is the first time I'm hurt by BTS." Now, "Namjoon apologize to Muslims" and "RM apologize to Muslims" have taken over X trends. Kim Nam-joon is RM's real name.
What did BLACKPINK's Jisoo do?
In April, BLACKPINK's Jisoo attended Ocean's concert at Coachella and uploaded a Story where he could be seen performing Bad Religion. During the current uproar, BLACKPINK's followers were one of the first to demand RM's apology, but were countered by RM's fans who reminded them that Jisoo had "done the same thing." People also dug up past instances where BLACKPINK allegedly disrespected other faiths.
BTS fans are now shielding RM from the backlash
While the war is raging on, BTS fans have passionately defended RM. A tweet said, "How could you even think of calling RM Islamophobic? The song is about bad romance. You have a lack of education." "RM likes the song, which he has every right to do. Demanding apologies, however, is not something that's a right. Fans should know boundaries," wrote another user.
