BTS V has found himself at the center of a social media storm, stirring significant debate among K-Pop fans and netizens alike.
The controversy stemmed from an Instagram story posted by the idol thanking fans in French after BTS wrapped up their ARIRANG World Tour concert in France. French fans widely welcomed the gesture, though some noted that his caption ended with a command that said, “Translate this into French.” While this innocent mistake was seen as rather endearing by fans, netizens felt otherwise.
Recently, a major X (formerly Twitter) account reposted the story, calling the idols names over the mistake. However, what really fueled outrage against V was the fact that he was using generative AI in the first place.
we need to do something about these idols openly using chatgpt as if it’s their lifeline BRING BACK SHAME! https://t.co/39IRt1JuxU
— lucy pearl 🔪 (@tanginaco) July 29, 2026
Wasting water instead of using a translator app wich is significantly less harmful than chatgpt https://t.co/S8LSHJRtF8
— lumi 𖦹 (@llumioo) July 30, 2026
taehyung, put chatgpt down i beg
— tati 👾 (@emojjwan) July 22, 2026
The situation took a more dramatic turn when a K-Pop fan commented that the backlash would have been significantly higher if a female idol had been in V’s place. The post gained millions of views, drawing in a huge number of responses that pointed fingers back at some female idols, including BLACKPINK’s Jennie and the members of aespa. While the former was grilled for promoting the Meta glasses, the latter caught heat for their previous music videos that used generative AI in their production.
Mind you a female idol is promoting AI sunglasses that were used to record women without their consent, and y’all are acting blind and dragging someone for using AI for translation https://t.co/66jXManRTy pic.twitter.com/z9njYRf3Se
female idols like aespa and jennie are promoting the ai glasses that have been used to film women without their knowledge but sure a non french speaker translating a sweet message of gratitude to his fans is the real scandal.@dominantinageci imbecilе😂 https://t.co/RAW9qNCaZe pic.twitter.com/yM5BsTgNPs
— amber 非 ⓥ (@ambersthv) July 29, 2026
you are not allowed to use a translator but go ahead promto rpist glasses and ai in music videos bec your a female idol. https://t.co/4Iy5kmezKe pic.twitter.com/xmPkoceupl
— into the SUN⁷ (@thvillains) July 29, 2026
While this heated back-and-forth is unlikely to resolve, there appears to be consensus against generative AI in K-Pop online spaces.
The broader discussion transcends individual idols, pointing towards a significant shift in fan expectations and industry standards regarding technological integration.
