Here’s Why BTS’s “FAKE LOVE” Is Being Censored On American Radio And Television. The whole censorship story has been explained by a US radio host.. US television and radio stations are censoring the Korean word for “I” in BTS’s “FAKE LOVE” and it’s causing some controversy.. American A.R.M.Ys were excited to start hearing the new hit on popular radio stations just before BTS’s epic performance at the BBMAs, . but fans soon realized the words 니가 and 내가 (“niga” and “naega”, you and I) were being censored because they could be misheard as the N word.. A.R.M.Ys were immediately worried that it would equate to bad publicity for BTS, since uninformed listeners would assume the song does in fact say the N word.. Radio stations have been flooded with complaints and queries about the reason for censorship.. Fans are also arguing that it’s unfair to BTS to censor the song, since it was written in their native language and the word is a Korean word.. “Honestly, I think it’s ridiculous and ignorant for them to ‘censor’ the song. BTS is singing in Korean and NOT in English.. By censoring them it gives the impression that they’re saying the n-word, when they aren’t.. BTS shouldn’t need to accommodate for those who will not bother to educate themselves on anything that is not ‘American’.”. Station 1027KJ103 Oklahoma City host JJ Ryan explained that the radio stations were given the censored version by BTS’s label, . due to the possibility of complaints being made to the Federal Communications Commission.. He reassured A.R.M.Ys that the majority of Americans wouldn’t know the word is censored so it doesn’t reflect badly on BTS.
. However, A.R.M.Ys are still discussing how it might make Koreans feel and the potential issues with the racial slur association.
. “You can’t fault a language for having a word that just so happens to sound like a racial slur in another language.. The reason why words are so powerful is because of the history surrounding it, not the word itself.. The fact that what they’re saying is nothing even close to the meaning behind the N word makes it so ridiculous that they’re censoring it in the first place.”. While others are commending the record label for diffusing a potentially controversial situation.. It’s not the first time a Korean song was censored on US radio and TV – in 2014 when 2NE1‘s “I Am The Best” was being aired, the same words were partially censored, . with some repeats of “naega” and “niga” blocked and others left alone.. The word “naega” was said a lot more in “I Am The Best” as the lyrics in the chorus is “I am the best” x 4.. And fans are bringing it up now that “FAKE LOVE” has been given the same treatment.. While there doesn’t seem to be a resolution on the horizon, some fans are using the issue of censorship to promote more diversity in music.. . .
