Today, on the last day of Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, BTS visited the White House to discuss inclusion, representation, and anti-Asian hate. Prior to a closed-door meeting with President Biden, members of the K-pop boy band opened the White House's daily press briefing with White House Press Secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre.
"It's not wrong to be different. Equality begins when we open up and embrace all of our differences," said Suga, one of the band members.
"We’re BTS and it is a great honor to be invited to the White House tonight to discuss the important issues of anti-Asian hate crimes, Asian inclusion and diversity.”
— ABC News Live (@ABCNewsLive) May 31, 2022
Members of the global K-pop group deliver remarks before meeting with Pres. Biden. https://t.co/UQFGCaR88o pic.twitter.com/pNilMgjwnR
Brian Deese, White House National Economic Council Director, spoke at the White House briefing after BTS gave their remarks, said, “Okay… so I get to go home and tell my kids that BTS opened for me. I did not expect that when I woke up this morning."
Meanwhile, the BTS Army has lined up outside the White House in hopes of a glimpse of the band. One fan asked a Bloomberg reporter if she knew what they smelled like.
BTS fans outside the White House wanted to know what they wore, how they smelled, how they looked etc. @bts_bighit pic.twitter.com/c5UQFRdcGB
— annmarie hordern (@annmarie) May 31, 2022
BTS Army at White House gates pic.twitter.com/GXHGIZu61h
— Philip Melanchthon Wegmann (@PhilipWegmann) May 31, 2022
Thank you #BTS for stopping by the White House to talk about Asian inclusion and representation during #AANHPI month pic.twitter.com/AJpWaVVHVs
— Megha Bhattacharya (@mbhattacharya46) May 31, 2022
