An Australian TV show, “20 to One,” is under fire for its disrespectful comments towards South Korean pop group megastar BTS during a segment which some fans found to be xenophobic.

In the segment, “20 to One” host Erin Molan introduced BTS at number 18 as the “biggest band you’ve never heard of,” followed by a quip from her co-host Dave Thornton. She then explains: “this is BTS, the South Korean One Direction.”

Then, guest comedian Jimmy Carr said in what Heavy describes as a parody video about BTS: “When I first heard something Korean had exploded in America, I got worried. So, I guess it could’ve been worse… but not much worse.”

“And exploded they have,” Molan quipped, adding, “they’re the first Korean act to have a No. 1 in America, which is made even more impressive because only one band member actually speaks English.”

https://t.co/mjVjZhmiIM This is beyond disgusting and disrespectful for a band that worked so hard to get to where they are today, while overcoming their own hardships along the years. The audacity… #Channel9Apologise — Cyallinhell (@cyallinhell) June 19, 2019

However, one of the most condescending parts of the segment was when Thornton mentioned that the group “even spoke at the UN,” to which Molan asks what the visit could have been about, but the male co-host randomly blurts out “I’m gonna say hair products.”

This is particularly saddening considering that BTS appeared at the UN last year to encourage young people to use their voices to speak up about world issues. They’re appearance was also part of the group’s “Love Myself” campaign in support of UNICEF’s youth initiative “Generation Unlimited.”

this is fucking disgusting and racists as fuck @20toOne fucking apologise not only is it rude to the artists but y’all also offended armys this shit ain’t it don’t ever include bts in your shitty show if y’all can’t even give them respectpic.twitter.com/rjsBbiD1eE — inc kookoo 🏳️‍🌈 (@incorrectjeon) June 19, 2019

Things turned even more complicated, however, when Australian comedian Alex Williamson took to Twitter to defend Channel Nine’s program for its remarks.

Shut the fuck up cunt it ain’t racist they just don’t give a fuck about boy bands who are designed solely to extract $ from the hip pocket of 14yo’s. I’ll always revel in the genuine talents of South Korean professors such as Cheon Jinwoo. Fuck these cuntz. https://t.co/6dP7YcKB97 — Alex Williamson (@AlexWilliamson8) June 19, 2019

He even went on to drop Son Heung-min’s name in another tweet to claim that the South Korean soccer player “would rather chop his d**k off than listen to these BTS blokes as well.”

A man concerned for the state of the world. I’m sure Son Heung-min would rather chop his dick off than listen to these bts blokes as well. I ain’t alone ma fuckers. https://t.co/qNxDG0riMu — Alex Williamson (@AlexWilliamson8) June 19, 2019

But rather embarrassingly, Williamson seems to have forgotten to read the memo that Son actually supports BTS, as revealed in an interview from earlier this June, Soompi reported.

Well this is awkward 🥴https://t.co/A0vvkrSR54 — Ahlem ✨ (@YOONGIKOSMOS__) June 19, 2019

Here’s what other people are saying regarding this whole issue:

The BTS Army is asking for an apology and a firing after some “xenophobic” comments were made about the K-Pop group on an Australian television show. Here’s the full story: #channel9apologize #FireAlexWilliamson #bts https://t.co/rh7HUllRWY — Kelly Wynne (@kellywynne23) June 19, 2019

and here i thought australia was ahead in time, turns out they are decades behind judging by how they don’t seem to realize how big bts actually is worldwide and the fact that they are still tweeting about pizza rat and laurel vs yanny in 2019 🙄🙄 — namtiddies✨ (@ChimChimTrashyt) June 19, 2019

Some even suggested that the hosts should get fired.

Hey ARMYs! We got a racist realtor fired over his tweets about BTS. Who’s up for a second round to get some Australian presenters fired? pic.twitter.com/lA0sSXLJdo — 🎋 | NAMGI OST 🔜 21/6 (@YOONGIFlED) June 19, 2019

A spokesperson from Channel Nine issued a statement to SBS PopAsia, and it reads:

“As a light-hearted entertainment program, it is our belief that last night’s episode of 20 to One, which highlighted the ‘Greatest Global Crazes’, did not breach any broadcast regulations, and was intended to humorously highlight the popularity of the group. We apologise to any who may have been offended by last night’s episode.”

Featured image (left) screenshot via YouTube / BTS SQUAD, (right) via Instagram / bts.bighitofficial