BTS share #StopAsianHate statement: "We recall moments when we faced discrimination as Asians"

BTS have become the latest star to lend their voices to the growing #StopAsianHate movement – which follows the mass shootings in Atlanta, Georgia earlier this month, which took the lives of eight people, six of whom were Asian women. According to the Stop AAPI Hate website, "hate against Asian American Pacific Islander communities has risen during the COVID-19 pandemic."

In a statement shared with their 34 million Twitter followers, the record-breaking K-pop band opened up about their own experiences with racism and discrimination.

"We send our deepest condolences to those who have lost their loved ones," they began. "We feel grief and anger.

"We recall moments when we faced discrimination as Asians. We have ensured expletives without reason and were mocked for the way we look. We were even asked why Asians spoke in English.

"We cannot put into words the pain of becoming the subject of hatred and violence for such a reason. Our own experiences are inconsequential compared to the events that have occurred over the past few weeks. But these experiences were enough to make us feel powerless and chip away our self-esteem."

BTS go on to note that "what is happening right now cannot be dissociated from our as Asians."

"We stand against racial discrimination," they concluded. "We condemn violence. You, I and we all have the right to be respected. We will stand together."

Read the full statement from BTS below:

#StopAsianHate#StopAAPIHate pic.twitter.com/mOmttkOpOt

— 방탄소년단 (@BTS_twt) March 30, 2021

Earlier this month, BTS were announced as the winners of the 2020 IFPI Global Recording Artist of the Year – a unique award that calculates an act's worldwide performance across digital and physical music formats – which saw BTS ranking above the likes of Taylor Swift, Drake, The Weeknd and Billie Eilish.