- calendar_today August 23, 2025
Palestine Supporters Condemn V’s Role in Coca-Cola Promotion
BTS member Kim Taehyung, also known as V, is being strongly criticized for his recent appointment as the new face of Coca-Cola Zero in South Korea, with many describing the decision as “tone deaf” and “deeply disappointing” in the face of genocide in Gaza, and the company’s controversial inclusion on the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) list.
V was chosen as the new star of Coca-Cola’s Korean Zero campaign on July 31, as part of the brand’s latest promotional drive under the hashtag #BestCokeEver, which was shared alongside a stunning cinematic video and an explosive reveal: the removal of his HYBE label mates, girl group NewJeans, in favor of V as the new face of the drink.
The announcement, while a high-profile one for both the K-pop idol and the global beverage giant, has quickly attracted more than its fair share of unwanted attention, becoming the subject of a heated online debate in an increasingly polarized political climate.
BTS Promotes Zero Without Commenting on Gaza
The problem with BTS’s decision to take the deal and with V’s silence on the issue is that it feels starkly at odds with the public identity that the group and its members have carved out for themselves in recent years.
While it would be unfair to say that the group has specifically or consistently focused on Palestine in their activism and awareness-raising efforts over the years, BTS members have frequently spoken up in defense of other international and social justice issues. The group has been open in their support of the BLM movement, as well as speaking out about discrimination against Asians.
When it comes to Gaza and the violence there, however, the K-pop group has been mostly silent, with their most recent statement on the issue coming from Suga in June, two weeks before the recent Israeli invasion. In a more recent interview, Suga did make a point of saying that the Israeli invasion was not his own opinion, but rather that of his management company, making the public silence of BTS’s members on the issue all the more noticeable.
Smaller Suga Controversy Bodes Worryingly for V
Smaller versions of this kind of controversy have surrounded V before: only last year, he was criticized by fans for casually sharing a picture of McDonald’s fries on his social media, also drawing criticism for promoting a company with its questions over its relationship with Israel.
However, to many fans and detractors, the appearance of V in a Coca-Cola Zero campaign feels like a step too far for BTS, whose socially aware and activist image may have previously atoned for some of the K-pop group’s more politically ambiguous endorsement deals.
Coca-Cola’s BDS-Listed Problems
The decision to include V in their campaigns comes with a considerable amount of baggage of its own, given the brand’s position on the BDS list and the particular problems it has had in the past over its operations in Israel and Israeli-occupied territories.
Only this year, in 2024, the company was at the center of major controversy after releasing an advertisement in Bangladesh in which the brand denied having “businesses” or “presence” in Israel, before activists in the region were quick to point out the documented and illegal presence of Coca-Cola Israel in the occupied territory.
Documents seen by the Guardian and shared by WhoProfits, a center that tracks Israeli occupation and foreign companies’ complicity in them, show that Coca-Cola Israel has a plant in the Atarot Settlement Industrial Zone, and that its Tabor Winery has sourced grapes from the occupied West Bank, as well as the Syrian Golan Heights, making it a frequent target of boycott campaigns and calls for BDS activism.
Calls for V to Cut Ties with BDS-Listed Brand
Fans of the K-pop star and international ARMYs have not been slow to point this out to him, as backlash to the decision has grown to become a global trending topic on social media, with fans expressing their anger and disappointment over the choice to support a company with its issues, as well as V’s refusal to address the situation in Gaza himself.
Messages calling on V and the group to cancel the endorsement and criticizing the lack of alignment between his and BTS’ public image and their choice of partners have been numerous, with a sample message calling on V to withdraw from the campaign sharing widely on social media, including on V’s own Weverse profile.
The post read as follows:
“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.”
Fans as well as V’s public relations team have not yet offered an official response or clarification regarding V’s involvement in the campaign, or BBTS’s silence on Gaza, with it currently remaining unclear whether the idol will walk away from the campaign at this stage or not.
