Fans outrage over Big Hit staff using BTS for personal purposes: BTS was forced to do something they don’t like during a live broadcast?

Many BTS fans are currently angry because they believe that Big Hit’s staff had forced BTS members to follow their request for personal gain.

BTS is the most popular K-pop group, so they have a huge influence on every brand whose items they advertise or are simply seen using. This is positive, but it can also become negative because there are people who will take advantage of the group’s popularity for personal gain.

These situations have also happened a few times, but what took place recently has caused ARMYs to outrage because it comes from the staff of Big Hit Music. Accordingly, netizens are currently questioning whether the company’s staff took advantage of BTS’s live broadcast to benefit from promotion and forced the members to do something they didn’t like.

Specifically, on August 19, members RM and Jin held a live broadcast on Vlive to interact and chat with fans. During the broadcast, because the 2 members said they hadn’t eaten yet, they had sandwiches and cakes that Big Hit’s staff bought for them. This was where problems arose.

If RM and Jin got to enjoy their favorite food, there would have been no issue, but their discomfort and subsequent actions explained it all. The food did not suit their taste. RM realized it was a chicken and avocado sandwich. BTS fans know very well that both Jin and RM are not fans of avocados, but the staff didn’t seem to care about it.

RM honestly shared, “I hate avocados. This sandwich is filled with avocado, which looks like dirt to me!’. However, because it was brought by the staff, RM politely took a bite. He then couldn’t swallow it and jokingly said: ‘The taste of avocado really pisses me off!’. Eventually, RM and Jin both stopped touching that sandwich.

After that, Jin and RM tasted the cream cake and dessert that was brought in. Jin even had to hold the cake to the front so the camera could get a close-up of its shape. However, once again, fans realized that Jin does not like cream and he even mentioned this many times before. Even so, the male idol still tried to eat a piece, but he also repeated that he doesn’t like cream very much. In the end, Jin could only eat the fruit decorations on the cake.

At first, fans found these details very weird, but they also assumed that maybe the staff accidentally bought the wrong food that both Jin and RM didn’t like.  However, the controversy then broke out when many Korean fans discovered that the cakes and sandwiches were most likely brought from a Korean cafe called ‘Plate D’ – which has an inside connection with the staff. Previously during J-Hope‘s live broadcast, the male idol also received a cake from this cafe given by the staff.

When fans spoke up on suspicions that Big Hit staff was using their relationship with BTS for the cafe to get free promotion, a new controversy arose. After Jin and RM finished the live broadcast, Plate D’s Instagram account as well as the care staff’s account shared a screenshot of BTS eating their baked goods and included a caption that said ‘The BTS coin’. This implies that as long as there is BTS involved, money will come. This is considered a rude act, viewing the members as nothing more than a tool for profiteering even though they are not inherently brand ambassadors or anything similar for Plate D.

These disrespectful comments have caused this cake shop to be criticized by BTS fans. So then Plate D had to post an apology. Accordingly, they claim that they only use the word ‘Bangtan coin’ with a positive connotation.

Here is the store’s first apology:

“Hello, this is Plate D.

First of all, we apologize for releasing this post so late. 

Regarding our statements about ‘Bangtan coin’, we wanted to let you know that we released it without the intention that Army thought we had. 

We were really happy that the BTS members ate our shop’s food deliciously and using the word ‘coin’ was implied in a positive way. We never thought that Army would receive this so negatively. 

Furthermore, I’m also a fan of BTS. I never intended to use them in a negative manner, and I couldn’t judge that the term ‘Bangtan coin’ would be viewed negatively by Army. I was short-sighted. Sorry. 

I apologize to all Army who felt uncomfortable through my words. 

Plate D will make an effort to become more careful in the future. I apologize again.”

The store’s apologies, on the other hand, enraged the fans even more. Fans pointed out that the store said ‘the members ate well,’ despite the fact that they couldn’t swallow and appeared to be forced to eat the cakes. Allegations that Big Hit staff ‘abetted’ Plate D heightened the gravity of the situation. As a result, the shop was forced to issue a second statement regarding the incident. They claim that they don’t know anyone at Big Hit and that they haven’t had any requests to advertise or sponsor foods.

The following is the store’s second statement:

“Hello, this is Plate D. 

I released the apology hastily and there were a lot of Armys who raised suspicions and complaints about some parts of my apology, I felt like there were some unresolved issues. There were parts that many have pointed out that were faulty and embarrassing that I couldn’t realize when I released the post. 

I couldn’t keep private life and public life separate and I wrote some thoughtless words that were problematic. I acknowledge this. 

And I’m sincerely apologizing. 

I thank Army for being able to redirect me towards the right path through the criticism. 

Plate D will make an effort to always use every word carefully and become more humble in the future. 

Moreover, I would like to give some clarity on the fact that many people have been raising doubt about ‘the acquaintance promoting that shop’. Plate D’s agency has no close connections to that agency nor anyone who belongs to the agency. Once again, we’ve never given sponsorship or ad deals. 

We just did as we always did with all customers which are receiving a take-out order and preparing the menu with the ingredients we have. 

We only found out about [the BTS members putting an order] through an acquaintance who was running our shop’s business that they have eaten our food. 

However, we take the blame for the fact that the BTS members couldn’t enjoy our food properly and that many Armys have felt uncomfortable through us. 

We will work hard to improve our ‘taste’ that was lacking. 

We apologize once again and thank you for all the criticisms. 

Sorry, and thank you.”

BTS fans and netizens agreed that the problem wasn’t due to the store anymore but to the staff buying these foods to the BTS members. They don’t think this staff and the shop have no ‘connection,’ because the attitudes of the members and the fact that they had to use this cake several times in the live stream session stated everything.

RM and Jin both confirmed that they were not purposefully advertising this cake store during the broadcast, yet their attitudes and behavior were exceedingly awkward. Both members had to read the components of the sandwich and then showed the shape of the dessert cake.

Some comments from Knets:

• [+691, -3] You can clearly tell what those employees think of BTS. And looks like there are still sh*tty employees working at HYBE too 
• [+606, -2] Those f*cking Bighit employees it’s not the first or second time… Please manage your employees a bit 
• [+551, -7] That shop should at least release an apology. That Hybe f*cker employee released that ‘coin’ word in his private account
• [+324, -0]That shop said that the HYBE employee isn’t an acquaintance of the shop and it’s a f*cking lie. That sandwich shop is in Nonhyeon/Gangnam. If you take the care it’ll take about 40 minutes to go so a round trip will be way more than 1 hour. There’s a bunch of dessert places at Yongsan, must then go to a shop that’s not even opened yet in Gangnam to buy a sandwich and a cake? They even got Hobie’s cake in that shop tooㅇㅇ  They took a screenshot of BTS during their Vlive to promote the shop and they went ahead and wrote that Bangtan coin bullsh*t. Bagntan never releases any of the brands they’re using on their self-content and would put a sticker on them, but this time, you could even see the way they placed the packaging with the names clearly written on them. And the members even read out the menuㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ  Do you think we’re fools?ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
• [+301, -3] That Vlive was seriously unpleasant. Let alone the fact that they had the shop’s goods and sandwiches, it just felt like an ad. Bangtan isn’t at this level anymore 
• [+284, -0] Why would they give kids who hate cream and avocado a peach cream cake and an avocado sandwich? It was f*cking dumbfounding. Even the fans all know this, so you’re gonna tell me that a team who is stuck with them 24h/day isn’t aware? The kids were so hungry but they only took a few bites.