World Cup opening ceremony: This is how the Internet reacts to the appearance of BTS member Jungkook in Qatar

taketonews

On November 20, 2022, South Korean singer Jungkook did what some other prominent musicians had firmly ruled out: The member of K-pop superstars BTS performed at the opening ceremony of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Together with the Qatari singer Fahad Al Kubaisi he sang the World Cup song “Dreamers” – and was celebrated on the Internet, but also criticized.

“Jungkook has just performed in Qatar, where human rights are being violated, we shouldn’t celebrate it,” writes a Twitter user – and thus addresses the main point of criticism: Qatar is repeatedly accused of gross violations of human rights.

“Isn’t that against the philosophy of BTS?”

Another person sees a certain pattern with BTS. “Why does BTS perform in countries with serious human rights violations? BTS has performed in Saudi Arabia, although many artists have refused to perform there after Khashoggi’s death. Due to human rights abuses in Qatar, many artists refused to perform at FIFA 2022; & then Jungkook from BTS performed,” the person wrote.

“Why is Jungkook performing at the World Cup in Qatar? It is now widely known that there have been many human rights violations against foreign workers who build the stadiums. Doesn’t that go against BTS’s philosophy of supporting human rights?” asks one user.

Also a lot of praise for performance

However, there has long been more than just criticism – Jungkook is celebrated by many for his performance. “We love you, Jungkook,” says the numerous declarations of love on Twitter – and numerous postings sound: “Youngcook slayed”

Rod Stewart reports on offer

Rod Stewart, on the other hand, had no desire to perform in Qatar. In a recent interview, he reported an offer: “Actually, 15 months ago I was offered a lot of money to play there. Over a million dollars (around 972,000 euros). But I declined. It just wouldn’t be right to be there.”

+++ This article first appeared on rollingstone.de +++



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