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Rapper Joe Budden slammed for saying K-pop band BTS is from China

“I know they big, I know it’s China,” Budden said on a recent episode of his podcast, adding that he still didn’t want to see the K-pop group. Its fans are taking him to task.
Revolt And AT&T Host Revolt 3-Day Summit In Atlanta  September 13
Joe Budden at the Revolt Summit x AT&T Summit in Atlanta in 2019.Paras Griffin / Getty Images for Revolt file
/ Source: NBC News

BTS fans are calling out rapper and media personality Joe Budden, who on a recent episode of his podcast referred to the K-pop band as being from China.

“I know they big, I know it’s China, I don’t wanna see it,” Budden said while ranting about the band, whose members are South Korean. 

On an episode of “The Joe Budden” podcast Wednesday, the 41-year-old rapper, best know for 2003’s “Pump It Up,” talked about how much he dislikes the group, which has broken records as the most popular K-pop band in the U.S. 

64th Annual GRAMMY Awards - Arrivals
BTS at the Grammy Awards in Las Vegas on April 3.Axelle / Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

“I hate them ...,” he said. “I don’t wanna see them dance moves. I don’t wanna see you come down from the sky in a little umbrella.”

Budden didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

His co-hosts pushed him to explain his reasoning, even correcting him and telling him “it’s Korea.” But Budden doubled down, saying, “I don’t wanna see KoreaNSYNC.” 

“I hate them. I don’t have to divulge my reason,” he said. 

In response to criticism, he said on Twitter that he wouldn’t be “bullied” out of his music opinion, and then responded to one Twitter user’s comments, saying, “Oh stop it, I made a mistake and was corrected.

Fans known as the BTS Army quickly caught onto the comments and hammered Budden on social media, arguing that the rapper is just jealous of the group’s success and praising his co-hosts for calling him out. Some even thought his name was a typo for Joe Biden.  

This story originally appeared on NBCNews.com.