4th Gen K-Pop Idol Praised Amidst Global Starbucks Boycott

A 4th Gen K-Pop idol is being praised for boycotting Starbucks.

Since October, the death toll in the Gaza Strip has reportedly surpassed 33,400 due to Israeli attacks. The surviving Palestinians in Gaza are struggling to survive as over 75K are injured, starving, displaced, and lost homes, family, and friends.

Around 1 in every 25 Palestinians in Gaza are now injured or dead, Islamic Relief says as Israel’s bombardment continues unabated.

— ReliefWeb

More people worldwide are becoming aware of this humanitarian crisis and hoping to do their part in making a difference. So, BDS (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions) is an entity that has helped identify brands that should be targeted in boycotts. The Palestinian BDS National Committee shared a list of brands to boycott, placing them in categories. Popular fast-food chains, such as McDonald’s and Starbucks, are organic targets, although the latter was not on BDS’s boycott list.

The BDS movement did not initiate these grassroots boycott campaigns but is in support of them due to these brands openly supporting Israel’s genocide against Palestinians.

— BDS on organic boycott targets

bds boycott

In October 2023, the worker-led union of Starbucks, representing at least 9,000 employees, shared a post via X (formerly Twitter). In the statement, Starbucks Workers United stood in solidarity with Palestine.

As of June 2023, over 8,000 workers at over 360 Starbucks stores in at least 40 states in the United States have voted to unionize, primarily with Workers United. As of March 2023 none have yet enacted a collective bargaining agreement.

— Wikipedia

Starbucks Workers United stands with Palestine. pic.twitter.com/A0Rg63b7sp

— Starbucks Workers United (@SBWorkersUnited) October 20, 2023

Shortly after, Starbucks released its own statements, which denounced the union. Starbucks did not want to be associated with the union’s stance.

Starbucks wanted to stop the union from using its name and logo, saying the company had no official stance on the war and the union’s post might confuse customers. But many boycotters, like Blake, thought Starbucks should offer more support to the people of Gaza.

— AP News

Starbucks then sued its employees on October 18 for trademark infringement. The company claimed the social media post angered its customers and had the potential to damage the company’s reputation. Starbucks’ actions only disappointed customers.

Since then, Starbucks has been boycotted worldwide as customers thought it was unethical of Starbucks to sue its employees for their stance on the humanitarian issue. Consequently, Starbucks lost $ 12 billion USD in market value, with some locations even closing and filing bankruptcy in many countries.

Many people do not understand but Boycott has caused Starbucks alone to lose $ 12 Billion and many of the Starbucks are being closed due to that.

Boycott works

Watch the video ? pic.twitter.com/UZk71GdPx1

— William B. (@The_NightReport) December 25, 2023

Recently, Workers United and Starbucks began discussions to build “a productive relationship in the best interests of Starbucks partners.” Still, many are continuing to boycott the coffee chain.

We have agreed with Workers United that we will begin discussions on a foundational framework designed to achieve collective bargaining agreements, including a fair process for organizing, and the resolution of some outstanding litigation.

— Starbucks

A giant step forward made possible by thousands and thousands of us joining together and speaking out…

?THIS IS HUGE.? pic.twitter.com/zZZ57Am0Bm

— Starbucks Workers United (@SBWorkersUnited) February 27, 2024

So, many fans have been disappointed as their favorite music artists have failed to join the boycott. Still, one K-Pop idol has made a point to boycott.

Recently, 8TURN (previously known as BOM) leader Jaeyun. The 4th Gen idol from New Zealand recently held a live broadcast via YouTube, interacting with fans for about an hour.

Throughout the live broadcast, Jaeyun would take sips of coffee. He is now going viral for his comments about the coffee he was drinking.

Jaeyun garnered over 200K views at the time of writing. He revealed that his coffee was from the Korean coffeehouse chain A Twosome Place. He added, “Not somewhere… dodgy.”