BTS’ RM and J-Hope face backlash after attending Chris Brown concert

BTS stars RM and J-Hope have found themselves at the centre of a heated fan debate after attending Chris Brown and Usher’s R&B Tour in Toronto—just days before BTS is set to take the same stage.

The two K-pop superstars were spotted at Brown and Usher’s concert at Rogers Stadium on Wednesday, where they appeared to be enjoying the show. J-Hope later shared footage from the performance on Instagram, including moments of himself and RM singing and dancing along to Brown’s 2011 hit Look At Me Now.

But the night took a more controversial turn when RM and J-Hope met Brown and Usher backstage. The trio posed for photos, with the image of RM and J-Hope alongside Brown later appearing on Brown’s Instagram account on Thursday, Aug. 13.

For some members of the BTS ARMY, the seemingly celebratory encounter was enough to ignite a wave of criticism.

Brown, one of R&B’s biggest stars, has a long history of violence-related legal cases. In 2009, he pleaded guilty to felony assault involving his then-girlfriend Rihanna. He later pleaded guilty to a 2014 assault in Washington, D.C.

More recently, Brown pleaded guilty in July to affray, stemming from a 2023 London nightclub incident in which he was accused of attacking music producer Abraham Diaw with a bottle. He is scheduled to be sentenced in October.

Brown is also facing a lawsuit from a former housekeeper seeking nearly 13 million dollars after she was allegedly attacked by his 200-pound guard dog, Hades.

Against that backdrop, some fans questioned why RM and J-Hope would publicly celebrate Brown’s performance and pose alongside him.

"It's as if the boys are not taking (Chris Brown's) assault seriously, and that's very upsetting,” one fan said on Reddit.

The backlash was particularly intense because RM has previously been open about confronting criticism over misogyny in his own lyrics. In a 2021 interview, he discussed having his lyrics reviewed by a women's studies professor after receiving criticism and said the experience prompted him to reflect on gender equality and the issues raised by his work.

For some fans, that history made his appearance with Brown especially jarring.

"Seeing you smiling, hugging and publicly promoting a man who assaulted a woman is deeply disturbing."

On Reddit’s BTS-focused communityanother fan questioned the idea of separating Brown’s music from his personal history.

"People say 'separate the art from the artist,' but I don't think that should ever be applied to living people who are still actively making money despite their awful deeds."

The controversy has not been limited to RM and J-Hope. A day earlier, fellow BTS members Jungkook and V also played and sang along to several Brown songs—including New Flame, Loyal and Don't Judge Me—during a livestream on the group’s official Weverse platform.

Across Instagram, X, Reddit and Weverse, fans described themselves as "shocked", "disappointed" and "upset" by the members’ interactions with Brown.

Still, the BTS fandom is far from united on the issue.

Some fans have defended RM and J-Hope, arguing that attending another artist’s concert, enjoying their music or meeting them backstage does not automatically amount to endorsing every aspect of their personal history.

"Just because you like their music doesn't mean you agree with their actions."