THE BAMBAM INSTAGRAM CONTROVERSY:
On June 10, 2018, BamBam of Got7 posted the picture shown above to his Instagram account. He is shown wearing a black tank top and the Black Panther necklace, in the Wakanda Forever pose from the film. This, as I can only assume is cosplay, caused quite the controversy in the comments. As per usual, one person started a wildfire of hate that aimed at Bam. People claimed he had committed Blackface. Others called him a ‘jiggaboo’, amongst other hurtful names.
This, of course, led to a whole other debate in the comment section of the post. Fans of BamBam were quick to defend him, as a lot of us would. However, they were doing so in a way that rude and unnecessary. Telling others to ‘stfu’, or just leave the Internet entirely.
While all of this was going down, BamBam tweeted this: “Okay… so idol not allow to become a movie fan? Disappointed…” All of the hateful comments on his post had clearly hurt his feelings. He is only human, after all. And it seems as though, because of this situation, he has taken a hiatus from his social media accounts. On his Instagram, the June 10th post is the last post currently on his feed.
IN HINDSIGHT:
In hindsight, what was a seemingly innocent appreciation post to BamBam, was seen in a different light to fans and antis alike. People were quick to say things and started a harmful debate. Which then led Bam to take a hiatus from social media, which I do not blame him for at all. An idol’s life is already stressful enough without social media controversy added in the mix. This whole situation shows me that we have a long way to go with how we treat idols on the Internet. We forget that they’re only human themselves, just like the rest of us. Just living different lives than us that we cannot even begin to fully understand.
One of the last comments on the post was written by @soft4Got7 on Instagram. She stated:
“As a Black Aghase, let me shine some light into the situation: the fact that BamBam LOVES Black Panther SO much is absolutely amazing. And it’s definitely something we need in the Black Community”.
“He’s not mocking the culture in any way, shape or even form. I support and love the fact that BamBam loves Black Panther. It shows he’s the exact opposite of what everyone is trying to call him”.
I’ve spoken with @soft4Got7 recently about the topic in question, and here are her personal thoughts on the situation:
“I think it’s an opportunity because I want people to understand the gravity of their words. And I love Got7 so much and I just hate to see Bam get so much hate over liking a movie. Like it is so ridiculous how people look for ways to start drama.”
