The number of lives lost in the Gaza Strip as a result of the Israel-Palestine crisis have surpassed 25,000, making this a serious humanitarian issue.
As a result, global protests and boycotts are being organized to protest against companies that are associated with or have shown support for Israel. Among those, McDonald’s and Starbucks are two major targets.
Therefore, K-pop artists who consume, engage with, promote, or partner with these 2 brands have also fallen under criticisms. A prime example is Somi, who ended up having to delete a video where she drank from a Starbucks cup and even now still receives criticisms.
Recently, the boycott movement has expanded in the K-pop scene, with fans now calling for a major boycott against the K-pop’s “Big 4” agency as a whole.
According to the fans who call for boycott, the Big 4 agencies are having their idols using products from brands and even collaborating with artists that support Israel. However, despite fans’ pleas to cease these collaborations, the companies are not doing anything meaningful.
“By stopping the streams, album, and merch sales and lowering the income of the companies and getting attention from them, it will put the companies into tight spots and give them no other choice but to band the Zionist brands, which in result will also help to educate our artists”, a fan also explained.
The boycott is expected to last for 5 days, from January 23 to January 28, against every artist that is under HYBE, JYP, SM, and YG. It also uses the hashtag #StrikeAgainstThe4
Source: X, Krb
