Billboard Purchased By ARMY To Celebrate BTS Jungkook’s Birthday Taken Down For Allegedly “Promoting Homosexuality”

The ad was supposed to be up for 2 days, but it was taken down in a matter of hours.

A billboard advertisement in celebration of BTS Jungkook‘s birthday has been taken down for “promoting homosexuality.”

BTS’s Jungkook | BTS/Weverse

The ad was displayed at a busy intersection in the city of Gujranwala, Pakistan after a member of the BTS ARMY received the Chamber of Commerce’s permission to put a billboard of Jungkook up in celebration of his 24th birthday, which was on September 1.

Jungkook (left) and fellow BTS member J-Hope (right) during Jungkook’s birthday live stream | @btschanels/Twitter

The billboard featured a photo of Jungkook wearing a suit along with the phrase “Happy 24th Birthday.” The bottom of the billboard stated that the billboard was commissioned by ARMY members from Gujranwala, and it also stated the name of the fan who directed the billboard project.

Billboard of BTS’s Jungkook in Gujranwala, Pakistan | @Jungkook_SNS/Twitter

ARMY was happy to see photos of the billboard on social media, and some fans said they were excited to take pictures of the billboard in person.

K-Pop fans often celebrate idols’ birthdays by purchasing ads. In addition to the ad displayed in Gujranwala, ARMY purchased ads in many cities all over the world to commemorate Jungkook’s birthday.

Younus Mughal, the owner of the billboard Jungkook’s birthday ad was displayed on, revealed that the ad was supposed to stay up for two days. However, the billboard was taken down in a matter of hours after Furqan Aziz Butt, a Punjab Assembly candidate, told the billboard’s owner to take the ad down.

We took it off later that same day in the evening. When we saw the ad while removing it, we didn’t really get what it was about, just that it showed someone’s face. Furqan Aziz Butt from the Jamaat-e-Islami had told us to take the ad off immediately.

— Younus Mughal

The ad had been brought to Furqan Aziz Butt’s attention in a Facebook group, and he told Vice he “received a lot of complaints from people” about the ad.

Furqan Aziz Butt | M Furqan Aziz Butt/Facebook

Furqan Aziz Butt further stated that the ad was taken down because BTS “has a negative influence” on the young people of Gujranwala.

There are young people in this city. This group (BTS) has a negative influence on them and encourages them to behave in wrong activities. They promote homosexuality.

— Furqan Aziz Butt

BTS fans were shocked that the billboard was taken down and took to Twitter to voice their opinions.

Zainab Zaman, a member of the BTS ARMY from Islamabad, Pakistan, told Vice that Pakistani ARMYs were hurt by the decision to take Jungkook’s birthday ad down and said the claims that the group promotes sexuality are unfounded.

A politician just comes up out of nowhere and says that BTS is promoting homosexuality and spreading vulgarity. BTS has never used vulgar verses in their songs. They are just about loving yourself and being happy.

— Zainab Zaman

Source: Dawn and Vice

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