VICTON members have officially apologized for being insensitive and ignorant of the tragedy of Breonna Taylor and dancing to the song dedicated to her.
Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old unarmed African-American woman, was fatally shot in her Louisville, Kentucky apartment on March 13, 2020, when white plainclothes officers Jonathan Mattingly, Brett Hankison, and Myles Cosgrove of the Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) forced entry into the apartment as part of an investigation into drug dealing operations. Taylor's boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, was inside the apartment with her when the officers knocked on the door and then forced entry. Officers said that they announced themselves as police before forcing entry, but Walker said he did not hear any announcement, thought the officers were intruders and fired a warning shot at them. According to officials, it hit Mattingly in the leg, and the officers fired 32 shots in return. Walker was unhurt, but Taylor was hit by six bullets and died.
Taylor's shooting by police officers led to numerous protests that added to those across the United States against police brutality and racism. When a grand jury did not indict the officers for her death, further civil unrest ensued. This case is only one among several others where the perpetrators were let off scot-free and spurred on protests across the country to support Black Lives Matter. K-Pop artists like BTS even donated to the BLM fund in support of the movement. In July of 2020, singer Tobe Nwigwe released the song "I Need You To (Breonna Taylor)" in support of and dedication to Breonna Taylor and called for the arrest of the police officials responsible for her brutal shooting. VICTON uploaded a now-deleted choreography video using the track, and Netizens did not kindly take it. Posted originally by Sejun, the video was promptly taken down after the response from Netizens worldwide. Still, his lax reaction to the accusation of ignorance and insincere apology angered Netizens even more. They are now demanding an official apology from the group's label.
Sejun wrote, "I did not know the meaning of the song used in a recent dance video, and I caused disappointment and hurt to many people overseas and our fans ALICE. Moreover, I did not properly apologize when this came up during a V Live stream. Everything is due to my carelessness. I apologize once again to the people overseas and to ALICE, who were hurt because of me. I'll do my best to act more thoughtfully in the future. Once again, I apologize."
Subin apologized by saying that, "During a break between promotions, Seungsik, Sejun, and I received choreography lessons, and we've been filming dance videos during every class. In the midst of that, a dance video uploaded has caused a lot of hurt to people." Seungsik also apologized in the same vein.
Owned By KpopStarz.
Written By Ishani Sarkar.
