BTS is probably the biggest group in K-Pop. With millions of albums sold, the group is packing stadiums globally with their worldwide concert tour.
Although they are at the top of their game now, they have had a few minor scandals along the way. Let’s take a look at BTS’s worst scandals.
- Jin’s Condom Controversy
In 2014, Jin was caught up in a controversy after a condom had been spotted in his dorm room. At that time, Jin took a snapshot of himself eating a meal he had cooked. In the corner of the room, netizens spotted what they thought to be a box of condoms, and speculations ran wild.
Then, Big Hit Entertainment came forward and clarified that the box was indeed a box of condoms, and Jin had received it as a gift from fans. Although netizens took the controversy negatively at first, public opinion on the matter has slowly changed.
- BTS Rumors
Although BTS debuted in 2013 with moderate fame, it wasn’t until the release of their 3rd mini-album “The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 1” that they saw major mainstream success. The lead single, “I Need U,” topped many Korean charts and the album was the #1 selling album for some time.
When BTS outsold BIGBANG in album sales, netizens accused Big Hit Entertainment of “Sajaegi” (the act of manipulating music chart rankings, usually by artificially inflating album sales numbers by purchasing [or outsourcing the purchase of] large volumes of albums). Although representatives denied all accusations, stating that they did not have the means to do so, many netizens didn’t believe their statement.
The issue was finally put to rest after netizens did some digging. It turns out that as BTS had accumulated a large global fanbase, the sudden spike in sales was due to international sales being input into the system. Russian netizens also clarified that BTS had a huge fan club in Russian-speaking countries, which helped to explain a large number of international sales.
- Jungkook’s Controversy
For a period in time, a small fraction of EXO fans and BTS fans had a bit of tension between them. Some EXO-L believed that BTS was copying EXO’s concepts and styles, while ARMY argued that these were common concepts that many idols incorporate.
The tension grew more severe in 2015 when Jungkook once used the term “Let’s Love” with BTS. The small faction of EXO-L felt that that was an insult because the phrase had become a motto of sorts for EXO.
A photoshopped image of Jungkook’s portrait mounted on a funeral wreath started spreading amongst the EXO-L who had felt insulted. Many ARMY felt that the image was too severe, and tension between certain members of the two fan clubs grew. When fans realized that EXO and BTS were actually close, the feud seems to have died down.
BTS is probably the biggest group in K-Pop right. With millions of albums sold, the group is packing stadiums globally with their worldwide concert tour. Although they are at the top of their game now, they have had a few minor scandals along the way. Let’s take a look at BTS’s worst scandals.
- RM’s Plagiarism Accusations
Back in 2015, a Twitter user by the handle @wevebeenhere claimed that RM plagiarized lyrics from himself and another user by the handle @radiordinary. The lyrics in question were used in a verse on Primary‘s track, “U.”
Showing examples of the alleged plagiarism, @wevebeenhere revealed that the line “I will become your underline because you’re that important” was written by him months prior. He also proved that the line “When you lie in bed with loneliness the bed gets bigger” was written by @radiordinary months before the song was released.
