BTS recently became the subject of controversy following their performance at the 6th GAON Chart Music Awards on Feb. 22, Wednesday. GAON Chart has now issued an official apology in the wake of allegations that the Bangtan Boys stole ideas from BIGBANG rapper T.O.P.
Several artists performed at Wednesday's event including BLACKPINK, MAMAMOO, GOT7, EXO and BTS among others. BTS performed "Save Me" and "Blood, Sweat & Tears" at the awards show and kicked off their set with a 'no signal' intro, similar to the one used by T.O.P during his solo performances at BIGBANG concerts.
Several BIGBANG VIPs expressed their anger over BTS' blatant plagiarism and demanded an apology from the group using the hashtag #No_Signal_Please. Following the backlash, BTS' agency, Big Hit Entertainment, issued an official statement, as obtained by All Kpop.
In its statement, the agency stated that they were not in charge of the production for BTS' stage during the performance. BTS fans also pointed out that the GAON Chart Music Awards staff members should be blamed for the stage intro and not BTS.
GAON Chart has now issued an official apology, obtained by the same publication, and put an end to the heated debate between BTS and BIGBANG fans. In its statement, GAON Chart confirmed that an outside production team was in charge of the stage concept and responsible for the recent controversy.
"After confirming with the outside production team of the said award ceremony, the executive office has validated that the production team failed to thoroughly monitor the used video footage, and that the team further failed to adequately explain the involved footage or provide a preview of the results to BTS and their party," the statement read. "We bow our heads in apology to all those whose hearts were negatively affected by this issue."
Check out BTS' performance at the GAON Chart Music Awards in the video below: