Charlie Puth called out BTS fans over the weekend for rude comments directed at him on TikTok.
Some fans of the K-pop boy band accused him of trying to piggyback off the group’s popularity for his own gain on social media platforms.
After seeing the comments, Charlie went onto shut down toxic negativity. “This dangerous, toxic, internet screaming match between ‘fandoms’ has to stop,” Charlie wrote in a series of tweets. “I’m 28 years old, so it doesn’t really mean anything to me when some person I don’t know writes a nasty message to me saying things like ‘I used BTS for clout.’ I don’t know what that means- I love those guys and they are super talented.”
While the controversy seemingly came out of nowhere, it may stem from a radio interview Puth gave back in 2018, in which he expressed an interest in collaborating with the boy band and admired their passionate fanbase, known as A.R.M.Y. He later performed a duet of his 2016 single “We Don't Talk Anymore” with BTS member Jungkook at the 2018 MBC Plus X Genie Music Awards.
In conclusion, Puth wrote: “It may sound cliché, but please be nicer to each other on here. No more screaming about made up nonsense. It does nobody any good. We all need to love each other MORE THAN EVER RIGHT NOW.”
BTS’ Twitter fans reacted with some confusion, citing a difference between the group’s Twitter and TikTok fans. One BTS fan apologized on behalf of the fandom, saying that those fans don’t reflect what the Army is about.