Controversy is rising after it was confirmed that Victoria Villarruel (48), the running mate (vice presidential candidate) of extreme right-wing candidate Javier Millais (53) running in the Argentine presidential election, posted hateful comments about BTS.
According to the local BTS fan club in Argentina (BTS en Argentina) on the 26th (local time), Victoria Villarruel, Vice President candidate of the Liberty Forward Party, ahead of the runoff election on the 19th of next month, was found to have written several tweets containing hateful content towards BTS in 2020. .
He posted a reply to a user’s tweet mentioning BTS, saying, “BTS is like the name of a sexually transmitted disease.” He also wrote, “I hate Koreans with pink hair.” Local BTS fans believe this is a reference to BTS leader RM (real name Kim Nam-joon).
Although there were criticisms and protests from some BTS fans at the time, the tweet in question, which did not cause much controversy, was brought to the spotlight again when Candidate Villarruel came in second place along with Candidate Millais in the presidential election on the 22nd.
However, candidate Villarruel again responded that it was not a big deal, saying, “I’m sorry that so many interesting tweet chat alerts from 1,000 years ago are pouring in.”
The local BTS fan club issued a statement saying, “BTS’ message has always been respect for themselves and everyone else. “We condemn Candidate Villarruel’s hateful xenophobia (ostracism or hatred of foreigners or other ethnic groups) towards BTS,” he said.
He also added, “Given his (Villaruel) recent comments, we do not expect a proper apology from him,” and added, “If similar tweets are found, please report them to ARMY (BTS fan club) rather than falling for provocation.”
Meanwhile, Candidate Villarruel, a former lawyer, comes from a family of soldiers who participated in the military dictatorship known as the ‘Dirty War’ (1976-1983), and is an extreme right-wing politician who is at the forefront of arguing for the need to ‘reevaluate the military government’.
He, who is also a sitting member of the House of Representatives, was accused of attending a party using a plane ticket provided for official work.
Song Chi-hoon,
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.