Despite the delightful news of BTS having their official comeback for 'Love Yourself: Her' on the 18th of this month, other media outlets seem to be raining on their parade with news of blackmail, cheating, and other malicious commentaries.
After teasing and revealing highlight reels for their comeback, news surfaced of a reporter claiming BTS cheated at the 'BillBoard Music Awards.' In the article, Jeon Won of Xports News wrote, "With the accusations of illegal marketing practices, BTS' eligibility for the 'Top Social Artist' award comes to suspicion. The winner of the award is determined by the hashtag votes and BTS has received more than 300 million. However, some netizens are now questioning the legitimacy. If the marketing took place with the use of part-time employees (to increase votes), then it'll be fair for BTS to return the trophy."
Big Hit Entertainment's lawyer Kim Sun Ho stated that "Big Hit is a transparent and robust company. The accusations of the blackmailer cannot be supported. 'Shortcut marketing' is a malicious representation of conventional online viral marketing that BTS did not take part in." Another article also surfaced which happened to prove the boy group's innocence.
An article titled 'Election vs. Viral Marketing - BTS, Billboard and the Justification for their Legitimacy' was revealed to have justified the boy group's immense popularity and put a stop to the claims of 'shortcut marketing' by highlighting BillBoard's voting system. BillBoard also revealed that "This award was awarded by a hashtag vote, and the BTS team received more than 300 million votes. Because there was a reporter who questioned whether the award was justified doesn't make it true."
BTS has proven their viral power on more than one occasion, with the 'BillBoard Music Awards' being one major example. ARMY (fans of BTS) also stated that this accusation of 'shortcut marketing' happened over two years ago and further questioned how these claims can suddenly affect their win 2 years later. "Let's show how we got 300 million votes with the real-time trend," said one fan.
No further statements have been given by Big Hit Entertainment and other parties involved in the controversy. What do you think of the accusations against BTS? Suspicious or all talk? Stay tuned for more official updates.
