YouTuber Oli London is issuing an apology to K-Pop group BTS' Park Jimin and the Asian community for "trying to become another person."
The influencer, who is non-binary and uses they/them pronouns, has undergone 32 surgeries to "achieve (their) Jimin look," they said in a video per NBC News. The different operations include six nose jobs, an eye surgery, a facelift, a brow lift, a temple lift and a teeth procedure, because London wanted to "look exactly like" their "ultimate idol." London said in a 2021 YouTube video, titled "Being Korean," that they were no longer "British," but "Korean."
However, London now regrets their actions, saying in an Aug. 29 YouTube video that "it wasn't the right thing to do" and adding that it was wrong to "emulate Jimin in such an obsessive way."
Though London "still identifies as Korean," they extended an apology to "any member of the Asian community that has ever misunderstood me or misinterpreted me or thought maybe I was a little bit too obsessed with Jimin."
The YouTuber said in their apology video that their identity was impacted due to being bullied in school, causing them to have self-esteem issues.
"That has been a big factor in me having surgery, me being unhappy, me also funneling my love into Jimin," London said. "I really tried to model myself on that person, because I thought that would make me happy."
After recently getting married, London said this moved them to "grow as a person."
"I can't be another person," London said in the video. "I just need to love myself. I've started to really love myself."
London's original comments on their identity change sparked a backlash on social media, with a non-binary Korean user writing on Twitter, "The fact that they are acting like it's genuine and that it's part of a ‘journey' due to [...] ‘identity issues' really irks me. It's a mockery of trans people, it's cultural appropriation."
Other users also weighed in, adding, "Sorry you have to change your body to feel loved and welcome but that doesn't make you Korean."