Dancer Jake Kodish, who has been working with BTS’s Jungkook, has landed himself in hot waters with ARMYs in the last few days.
Jake Kodish | @jakekodish/Instagram Kodish with Jungkook (center) | @jakekodish/Instagram
Kodish is a choreographer and dancer who has worked with Jungkook in most of his recent solo releases, including “Seven,” “3D,” and “Standing Next To You.” He is a part of the crew that has been performing live with Jungkook in all his recent shows. The other team members include renowned dancers like Brian Puspos, Ian Eastwood, Vinh Nguyen, Nick Joseph, and David Pornel.
However, it is just Kodish who has been clashing with ARMYs recently. The conflict started after the dancer posted multiple Instagram stories in support of Israel following the escalated humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip in early October. The violence triggered a worldwide reaction on an unprecedented scale, with millions of people calling for a ceasefire to save innocent lives.
A “Free Palestine”/”Stop the Attack on Gaza” march is taking place in Tokyo this evening. It looks like some of the left-wing groups that participated in previous demonstrations are present. (video from @j_fleuri) pic.twitter.com/bGxesHh6UC
— Jeffrey J. Hall (@mrjeffu) November 10, 2023
Press coverage: “A march in Norway in solidarity with the Gaza Strip.” pic.twitter.com/SooEmnZlku
— S p r i n t e r X (@SprinterX99880) November 4, 2023
Hundreds of protestors march through Union Station in #Toronto after occupying Canada’s busiest transportation hub to demand a ceasefire & an end to the siege on #Gaza.
Today is the start of #ShutItDown4Palestine: daily actions worldwide until demands are met.
Video: Raisa Ally pic.twitter.com/LdRZFmEYYs
— Javier Dávila #FreePalestine #NoOneIsDisposable (@XjusticeXpeace) November 9, 2023
Amidst such a sensitive situation, Kodish’s Instagram posts were not taken well by ARMYs, who called him out for propagating harmful rhetoric on his platform. The dancer engaged with the fans’ comments, but not in the most mature ways.
In other responses, he claimed that he had changed his stance on this issue but had decided not to address it publicly, inviting further criticism.
Meanwhile, ARMYs also discovered some distasteful past incidents involving Kodish. In 2019, he made disrespectful comments about Taylor Swift right after touring with her, which landed him in hot waters with her fans.
IG | Taylor’s old dancer Jake just went on IG live where he said — “Yes I worked for Taylor but that does not mean i care about her or her life. I won’t be working with her on this tour. I simply don’t want to.”
He liked Justin’s IG post yesterday.
(via @1989hannahswift) pic.twitter.com/rPN9rdL8ks
— Taylor Swift News 🩵 (@TSwiftNZ) July 2, 2019
While interacting with some of them on social media, Kodish made some sexually crude comments as “clapbacks.”
in case y’all haven’t seen it: ((i don’t know who took these screenshots, someone dmed me them)) pic.twitter.com/ZrxXZdUCHw
— veronica¹⁹⁸⁹ (@soitfuckingoes) August 10, 2019
He had later backtracked on his initial statement about Taylor, much like the current situation.
| Jake Kodish has since held another Instagram live where he’s asked Taylor Swift fans to leave him alone and says he respects Taylor and thinks she should own her music. He also said he liked Justin’s photo cause he thought it was an apology. pic.twitter.com/HQjllYnvsi
— Taylor Swift News 🩵 (@TSwiftNZ) July 2, 2019
With everything in mind, ARMYs started demanding that HYBE take action against Kodish and ensure he doesn’t get to work with their artists anymore. They are also voicing their concerns to Jam Republic, the dance crew that Kodish is associated with.
HYBE – Stop Working With Jake Kodish – Sign the Petition! https://t.co/veAkhZKBOx
— ✧ (@seokillua) November 10, 2023
Just a quick note that it’ll be more prudent to email Jam Republic instead of Hybe since Jake Kodish is a contractor, and not an employee and Hybe’s contract is with JR. Not only is this man a genocide supporter, but also made sexually charged statements on social. https://t.co/ca5l4BP2cg
— Ren (@blackrainjacket) November 10, 2023
In the midst of outpouring criticism, Kodish posted his renewed stance on the matter, saying he doesn’t want any more “senseless killing.” However, many took it as him backpedaling in the face of heat again and criticized him further for his lukewarm “statement.”
jake kodish now going “i’m just a dancer living in LA!” probably because all the disgusting shit he said these past few weeks came to bite him on the ass. after seeing how he acted this past few weeks, it’s clear that he wouldn’t be saying all this if his job wasn’t on the line.
— mr yunki⁷ (@boobkoos) November 10, 2023
Jake Kodish claiming he’s “scared to speak his mind again” after being called out for being a Zionist appeared just after this on my timeline. Privilege vs reality for the oppressed in real time. https://t.co/vVcCHRk51t
— alice⁷ layoꪜer ☭ ARSD (@mikrogalaxies) November 10, 2023
jake kodish’s ‘statement’ (if you can even call it that) was so bad it was comical. “i’m just a dancer and i just want peace” is as bad as saying nothing at all imo
— rayna⁷ 🪻 (@nycnamjoon) November 10, 2023
Soon after posting that Tweet, Kodish deactivated his account, presumably because of the increasing backlash.
ARMYs are still communicating their demands to drop him from future projects, but HYBE has not made any official responses.
Fans are calling for him to be dropped from the crew.
