Denies There Was Sexual Harassment That Made Gibran Rakabuming Angry, Management Calls JKT48 Concert Conducive

JKT48 (Instagram @ jkt48)

JAKARTA - Social media is buzzing with cases of sexual harassment allegedly experienced by JKT48 personnel during a concert in Solo. The news was even shared by Gibran Rakabuming as the Mayor of Solo.

Although he denied that the location of the case took place in the Solo area, Gibran firmly condemned the harassment.

On his @Instagram account, @gibran_rakabuming, Gibran initially straightened out the incident that did not happen at the Solo City mall but Sukoharjo.

“The Park Mall is Sukoharjo, not Solo!” wrote Gibran quoted Monday, July 4. In the upload, the eldest son of President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) also featured several news articles.

For example, from the Instagram account @lokalconnect with the news title "JKT48 Tour in Solo Smudged by Harassment Incidents on the way home." The source in this news is taken from the video view of the TikTok account. It was mentioned that the audience's hands were trying to grab the chest of JKT48 personnel during the Solo City tour, last June 28.

"This has come to my attention, because recently the JKT48 group was allegedly sexually assaulted during a concert at a mall which, according to the title of the article, occurred in Solo,"

"But actually the incident was not at the Solo mall, but a shopping center in Sukoharjo Regency @pemkabsukoharjo. Of course, however, this act cannot be justified," explained Gibran.

It is known that JKT48 held a mini concert and fan meeting at The Park Solo mall on June 28, 2022. A few days later, the management also raised their voice about the issue.

They gave a statement through the JKT48 concert account. They denied there was any sexual harassment that had been widely discussed.

"In response to the issues circulating in the community related to the JKT48 10th Anniversary Tour Solo, we would like to clarify that the event ran smoothly from the beginning to the end of the event," said the JKT48 Japan Operation Team (JOT) on Sunday, July 3.

Responding to the issues circulating in the community related to the JKT48 10th Anniversary Tour Solo, we would like to clarify that the event ran smoothly from the beginning to the end of the event.

— #JKT4810thAnniversaryTour (@JKT48TOUR) July 3, 2022

They mentioned the possibility that the community was misunderstood by the large number of people who encountered JKT48. The management claimed that the security team carried out security swiftly.

"It is confirmed that there was extraordinary enthusiasm from fans who wanted to greet the members when they were walking towards the backstage, but the incident was responded to swiftly by the security team," he explained.

In the last tweet, management confirmed that there was no sexual harassment at the concert.

"Once again, we emphasize that there was NO incident of sexual harassment in the JKT48 10th Anniversary Tour Solo series, thank you for your attention," concluded the JOT.

At the same time, JKT48 announced the cancellation of the JKT48 mini concert in Bandung. Management was reluctant to explain the reason for the sudden cancellation. “Due to uncontrollable obstacles, the series of events for the JKT48 10th Anniversary Tour Bandung could not be held. We apologize for the inconvenience," they said. JKT48 is currently on a concert tour to celebrate 10 years of debut. They also released the song Flying High as a form of celebration of this debut.