M COUNTDOWN’ in Paris, France has allegedly been involved in a case of racism against Asians. The incident took place during the evening of October 15 at Paris La Défense Arena. Various artists such as ATEEZ, NCT DREAM, SHOWNU X HYUNGWON, TAEMIN, TREASURE, ZEROBASEONE, Dreamcatcher, and more performed at the event.
After the concert, disturbing videos were uploaded on social media, which quickly went viral. The videos showed security guards using excessive force to restrain and remove Asian fans from the venue. Witnesses reported that the security guards exhibited hostility specifically towards Asians. They insisted on removing Asian attendees, even against objections from other audience members, and used brutal tactics, almost resorting to violence.
Furthermore, witnesses stated that security guards targeted Asian attendees for bag checks, even though they were not using cameras, while ignoring Western attendees who were actually filming the artists. One Korean attendee claimed that he and his female friend were forcefully escorted out of the venue after refusing to have their bags checked. He described how they were thrown to the floor and choked by the security guards, as if they were terrorists. They also mentioned that phones were confiscated, preventing them from contacting the police or embassy, and were made to stand facing the wall, restricting communication among themselves. Human rights were violated during this process.
When they were finally released, they discovered that many items confiscated by the security team had gone missing, leaving them empty-handed. Mnet, the organizer of ‘M COUNTDOWN,’ has only stated that they are currently verifying the facts of the incident.
(Credit: Online Community, CJ ENM)
(SBS Star)
