Fans Highlight Coca-Cola’s Settlement Ties After V’s Endorsement

ARMYs have come forward to point out that South Korean boy group BTS’ newest member, Kim Taehyung, known professionally by his stage name V, is in trouble over a newly announced endorsement with beverage giant Coca-Cola Zero. It seems as if the actor and singer are being targeted by netizens due to the company’s inclusion in the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) list. On July 31, BTS V was announced as the brand’s new face for its “#BestCokeEver” campaign in South Korea. The news was released via a premium press showcase complete with clips, posters, and the big reveal: V replacing members of his record label’s newest girl group, NewJeans, as Coca-Cola Zero’s brand ambassador.

The brand has received much flak from netizens, who have deemed the “#BestCokeEver” campaign by V “tone deaf” due to the current genocide taking place in the Gaza Strip. The release came during the show’s finale in a segment that followed a mock interview between the idol and a “judge” sporting the same iconic suspenders that BTS has made a part of their 2024 comeback aesthetic, if only briefly.

Music celebrities are often seen lending their voices to advertisements for huge companies like V is now doing with the aforementioned campaign; however, V, a member of K-pop supergroup BTS, and the soda company has found themselves in a political firestorm after the newest member of the group was announced to have signed on as the endorser of the now-controversial “#BestCokeEver” campaign.

Activism vs. Claims of Silence

Fans on social media have been calling the music group out for their silence on the issue of Gaza, an issue that BTS has not shied away from vocalizing their opinion on in the past. Throughout the years, BTS has positioned itself as a group of socially-conscious musicians with its outspokenness on issues like anti-Asian sentiment and its public show of support for the Black Lives Matter movement.

V, however, has notably not said much about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Fans on social media have also noted V’s lack of political advocacy in the past on such issues. V had previously found himself in a much smaller controversy for sharing a casual photo of McDonald’s fries last year. The fast food restaurant has also been the target of pro-Palestine activists in recent years for its alleged “business relationship” with Israel.

For some of the band’s international fandom, these recent scandals make V seem like he’s only doubled down. For some in the West, which has been vocal in its call for action on Gaza, many K-pop idols’ silence on the issue has been a disappointment.

The American beverage company’s partnership with the international pop icon has come under fire from those aware of the company’s alleged operations and business relationship with Israel.

The American beverage company has a controversial history with pro-Palestine activists who have called for boycotts of the company. The latest uproar dates to a commercial aired in Bangladesh in 2024, in which the company strongly denied any association with Israel. Activists and news outlets claimed the beverage giant has a strong foothold in illegal Israeli settlements and should be boycotted in light of its complicity in Israel’s occupation of Palestine.

Activists and netizens online have pointed to WhoProfits, a research center that has an online database that tracks companies with active or historical participation in the Israeli occupation of Palestine. It was found that the Coca-Cola Israel branch, which had first reported in 2018 on WhoProfits’ database as operating out of illegal Israeli settlements, currently operates a distribution facility at the Atarot Settlement Industrial Zone, which sits on what international law would consider stolen Palestinian land. The company’s Tabor Winery, according to WhoProfits’ data, sourced its grapes from both the occupied West Bank and the occupied Syrian Golan Heights.

The American beverage company has long been the target of boycotts in Palestine and has remained vocal in its messaging of denying such involvement, as was the case in their 2024 Bangladesh advertisement.

Endorsement Backlash from Fans

In recent weeks, netizens have expressed their disappointment in BTS and the idol at the center of the controversy, V. Fans around the world took to social media to express their disappointment and shame in BTS as a whole and the newest member of the group in particular for their partnerships with two companies that have consistently been vocal in their denial of allegations. A message that has trended among English-speaking ARMYs in the wake of the campaign’s release called for fans to cancel the endorsement and boycott Coca-Cola for purchasing their money:

“Dear Taehyung BTS, Coca Cola has been operating on the stolen land of the Palestinians, some of whom are your ARMY. Please don’t work with and promote its products. Please educate yourself. Cancel the endorsement and stand with humanity.”

The message is one of many that have trended among the fandom that have come out and are still being expressed against the idol for his decision and BTS in general for allowing it to take place.

The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Movement is a global campaign promoting various forms of boycott against Israel until it complies with international law.

A spokesperson from the Beverage Israel branch, when asked about the commercial, had this to say about the rumors swirling about their company in a Bangladeshi publication:

“We are in more than 20 Arab countries, but have no presence in Israel.”