BTS Visits White House To Speak On Anti-Asian Hate Crime

K-Pop band BTS has traveled all the way to the White House to speak on Anti-Asian Hate Crime, which has hit an all-time high in the United States.

The pop band, which originated in South Korea, has reached fans around the world, including in the United States. On Tuesday, the band traveled to the White House on May 31 to mark the very last day of AAPI Heritage Month.

On Tuesday, the band appeared at a White House press briefing to make a short statement ahead of their meeting with President Joe Biden.

According to Deadline, the K-Pop band, which consists of members Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jungkook each took turns reading a short statement from the podium.

Speaking through an interpreter, Jimin told reporters, “We were devastated by the recent surge in hate crimes, including Asian American hate crimes. To put a stop to this and support the cause, we would like to take this opportunity to voice ourselves once again.”

“We believe music is always an amazing and wonderful unifier of all things,” Jungkook continued.

Suga added, “It’s not wrong to be different. We think equality begins when we open up and embrace all of our differences.”

CSPAN uploaded a video of the event to their Twitter page.

"WATCH: BTS (@bts_bighit) at White House Press Briefing," they tweeted, quoting, "We are BTS and it is a great honor to be invited to the White House today to discuss the important issues of anti-Asian hate crimes, Asian inclusion, and diversity."

The band did not take questions, despite being pressed by journalists.

After BTS spoke, the Director of the National Economic Council, Brian Deese, joked to reporters, “So I get to go home and tell my kids BTS opened for me. I did not expect that when I woke up this morning.”

BTS went on to meet with the POTUS, but the press was not invited to their meeting.

BTS is far from being the only pop culture icon to appear at the White House this year. Shortly before their Academy Award Best Picture win last March, the cast of "CODA" visited the White House and met with President Joe Biden to talk about increasing accessibility to the Deaf community.

Earlier this month, singer Selena Gomez met with First Lady Jill Biden in the East Room to speak on mental health. Singer Olivia Rodrigo also appeared earlier this year to talk about the importance of COVID-19 vaccinations. Paris Hilton also visited the White House last month to talk about child abuse in residential facilities.

It remains to be seen which celebrity will take a turn behind the podium next.