As the #StopAsianHate movement catches on, Topps Company is facing criticism for their portrayal of BTS on a Grammy-themed cards line.

In light of the increased hate crimes against Asian diasporas following the COVID pandemic, the Topps Company has come under fire for their insensitive portrayal of BTS on their special Grammy-themed Garbage Pail Kids trading card series, titled ‘Shammy Awards’. The company has since apologized for the stickers are removed the BTS card from the collection. 

Originally started as a parody of the famous Cabbage Patch Kids, Garbage Pail Kids has darker undertones, often showing characters in sticky situations. Shortly after the Grammy Awards this year, the Topps Company released a special thematic line of Garbage Pail Kids, titled Shammy Awards.

The 12-card collection parodies the performances and costumes seen on the awards stage, showing Harry Styles getting scared of his feather boa, and Billie Eilish standing on a sinking car, a call back to her performance. The company, however, is facing criticism for their portrayal of BTS in the series, especially in context of increased hate crimes against Asians in the USA following the COVID pandemic. 

BTS’ card depicts them in a Whac-A-Mole game setting, with the members being attacked by a Grammy trophy. The septet are sporting bruises, broken teeth, and bandages on the illustration. Fans have called out Topps Company for this insensitive portrayal of an Asian act, especially since none of the other cards depict the characters in violent situations. 

Many have also pointed out how the release of the cards might fuel hate against Asian communities. Between attacks on Asian-owned restaurants and businesses and Donald Trump dubbing COVID-19 the “China virus”, racially-motivated violence against Asians has been on the rise since the onset of the pandemic last year. Stop AAPI Hate also records almost 3700 attacks on Asian communities in the United States between March 2020 and February 2021. On March 17th, a mass-shooting targeting Asian-owned business in Atlanta left 8 people dead. 

Calls for action against anti-Asian racism have been catching fire, with numerous Asian and Asian-American figures, such as Eric Nam, CL (formerly of 2NE1), and Simu Liu joining in to support the movement, termed #StopAsianHate. 

Fans are thus asking for Topps Company to recall the cards or apologize for this portrayal of BTS, using the hashtag #RacismIsNotComedy to bring attention to the issue. 

Topps Company has since apologized for the stickers, putting out an apology on their social media. “We hear and understand our consumers who are upset about the portrayal of BTS in our GPK Shammy Awards product and we apologize for including it.” the statement read.

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