Seoul: A celebratory Instagram post by BTS leader RM, Kim Namjoon, promoting the success of his solo album, Right Place Wrong Person, has unexpectedly sparked controversy. The usually exciting news was met with a wave of backlash due to its bad timing. Just a day prior, fellow band member Suga was embroiled in a scandal involving drunk driving an electric scooter. The rapper has since apologised, claiming ignorance of the relevant regulations.
On August 6, Suga aka Min Yoongi who is currently serving in the public sector, was caught drunk driving an electric scooter and is now under police investigation. The following day, BTS’ RM shared a promotional update on Instagram, celebrating the achievement of his second solo album reaching #7 on “The Genius Community’s 25 Best Albums of 2024 So Far.”
This post was reportedly a reshare from another producer, JNKRYD, that was kind of like what RM shared the day before. But, within minutes, the BTS leader took down the post. However, many criticised him for being insensitive, with some suggesting that he was ignoring or downplaying the severity of the situation. “He never really cared and always posted whatever he wanted,” a social media user wrote. “How insensitive,” another quipped. “Why at this timing, of all times?” one more added.
While a section of fans kept bashing the leader, many rallied behind the Indigo crooner and defended his actions, pointing out that he might not have been aware of the news due to his military service, which restricts access to mobile devices for a certain period.
“He might not have known because he’s in the military. He quickly deleted the post.” one commented. “How cruel of you guys for bashing him he didn’t know,” another said. “Did RM do something wrong? Why are people reacting like this to him? It’s absurd. All the other members are diligently completing their military service or have already finished. If you want to criticize, direct it at the person who caused the incident,” one more added and so on.
