K-Pop group BTS (the Bangtan Boys) was forced to cut its New York City debut short as a result of terroristic threats made toward member Kim "Rap Monster" Nanjoon via Twitter. The fan meet-and-greet that was to follow that show at the Best Buy Theater near Times Square was also cancelled as a result. We might normally suggest that fans were "up in arms" over the development, but unfortunately that's exactly what led to this mess: two tweets from containing photos of individuals holding firearms while using the hashtag "#TRBinNYC." "TRB" references the name of the band's tour...which unfortunately is "The Red Bullet."
The good news first: Nothing has come of the development, and fans still got a good two-hours of music from BTS before the plug was pulled...musically, the show was just shortened to one encore song and a rather rapid exit from the band.
The bad news: The tweets might be "false alarms" but you can't argue against photographic evidence. One account (both have since been deleted) @glamgirl, simply featured a hand holding a handgun along with the caption "Just brought my gun it's about to go down RIP namjoon. #TRBinNYC." The second, believe it or not, is even more frightening: User @blueblossom (or someone posing as them) is seen posing with a rifle that features a hunting scope, noting "Namjoon oppa better watch out, I'm coming for him lol #TRBinNYC."
Although both Twitter accounts have been deleted, one screenshot captured on Billboard indicates user @blueblossom claiming that her account had been hacked.
BTS hasn't responded to calls for comment, so there's no word on whether these threats will affect the band's other three dates—in Dallas, Chicago and Los Angeles. Considering how rarely K-Pop acts get out to the States, it would be a massive bummer if the tour was derailed by a senseless incident.
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