A white British influencer who identifies as Korean has issued a heartfelt apology to K-pop band BTS, BTS' lead singer Jimin, and the broader Asian community.
Oli London, who is non-binary, sparked outrage when they told their thousands of social media followers that they had undergone 'racial transitional surgery' and was identifying as Korean.
In a post on Twitter, London said their pronouns are them/they/kor/ean.
London's announcement did not go down well with their followers, who accused the influencer of 'cultural appropriation' and being 'disrespectful'.
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Despite them resisting calls to apologise about the issue in the past, London has now issued a statement to the world.
London said in an open letter that 'after a great period of self-reflection and after undergoing therapy and mental health help' that they wished to 'apologise wholeheartedly'.
"I want to deeply apologise from the bottom of my heart to any member of the Asian community who has ever misunderstood, or misinterpreted my extreme love of Asia and Asian culture," London said in the letter.
The influencer went on to explain that they were a deeply unhappy person who struggled with bullying as a child.
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They '[changed] completely as a person forever' after a visit to South Korea.
"After going through years of feeling unhappy and not feeling accepted by society, I finally found freedom and happiness," London wrote.
But London's 'solace and happiness' that they found in K-pop culture soon became an obsession.
"[I became] overly obsessed with [BTS singer] Jimin to such a degree where I have undergone 32 plastic surgeries to try and look like him," they said.
The influencer added: "I have finally come to realise this was wrong and unhealthy."
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"I apologise wholeheartedly to Jimin, to BTS, to the [BTS fan] Army and all the Asian community who may have found my obsession 'too much', 'creepy' or 'unhealthy'."
They added: "I am now taking accountability for my past behaviour that I have come to see was not healthy or normal and I promise I will do better and change as a person."
However, London did not rescind their claims that they are trans-racial but instead doubled-down.
They said they still 'generally do identify as Korean and transracial'.
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In the letter they stated: "I am just the only one who has been open about it and there should be no shame in me or anyone identifying as Korean."
Topics: Celebrity, Weird, Viral, Social Media
Rachel Lang