Russian City Cancels K-Pop Film Amid Fear of ‘Korean Homosexuals’

A theater in the Russian city of Makhachkala canceled the premiere of the music documentary BTS World Tour: Love Yourself in Seoul after a social media campaign accused BTS, a K-Pop group whose members have spoken out favorably about LGBTQ rights, of "over-the-top immoral behavior."

The film got nixed after a social media campaign alleged the boy band included "seven Korean homosexuals," The Moscow Times reports.

Cinema Hall in Makhachkala, capital of the republic of Dagestan, canceled the screening days after opening ticket sales, according to the Kommersant business daily reports. The film is scheduled to debut in Russia on January 26.

BTS remains one of the most internationally successful K-Pop ground in music history, the first K-Pop group ever to top the Billboard 200.

None of the group's seven members are out, and it's considered scandalous in Korea for pop idols to discuss their dating life publicly.

But Rolling Stone reports BTS broke cultural and political barriers for speaking out in favor of LGBTQ rights, if only in subtle ways.

Group leader RM praised the Macklemore and Ryan Lewis single "Same Love," performed with out singer Mary Lambert, which he noted to fans was a "song about homosexuality." Earlier this year, he also recommended the soundtrack to Love, Simon.

But the fact little is known of members' sex lives didn't stop Russian right-wing groups from accusing the group of "debauchery." The concert film, critics say, "do not meet the teachings of Islam." Dagestan is a majority-Muslim Republic.

Anti-LGBT sentiment has skyrocketed throughout Russia since the adoption of a "gay propaganda" in 2013.