ARMYs vs James Corden: Host accused of 'using BTS for clout' after describing their 76th UNGA visit as ‘unusual’
James Corden is trending on social media after he was accused by the legion of BTS fans, or ARMYs, as being disrespectful toward the K-pop superstars.
Corden drew the attention of ARMYs after he described BTS’ appearance at the 76th United Nations General Assembly as “unusual” in his late-night talk show The Late Late Show With James Corden.
“The United Nations General Assembly kicked off this morning in New York City and it started with some pretty unusual visitors, BTS were there… love it. It must be weird, though, for whoever uploads the UN General Assembly meeting on YouTube,” the host said, on a now-deleted video uploaded on the show’s Twitter account.
Corden also drew criticism from ARMYs after he said the boy group’s fans are composed of “15-year-old girls.”
“Although in many ways, a lot of you will be saying ‘Why BTS,’ the world leaders have no choice but to take BTS seriously. BTS has one of the largest ‘ARMYs’ on the planet Earth. Historic moment, it’s actually amongst the first time that 15-year-old girls everywhere found themselves wishing that they were Secretary-General Gutierrez,” he added.
Despite the video being taken down, fans have re-uploaded it on social media.
Papa Mochi no more. James Corden talked about BTS appearance at the UNGA in his show and he thinks the UN guesting BTS was an “unusual” and “weird” experience by BTS "visiting" the UNGA, he also called ARMYs a bunch of "15 years old GIRLS"#BTSatUNGA #BTS #방탄소년단 pic.twitter.com/j3VjKOoHej
— Ms.Grett? (@snow0613_) September 22, 2021
Indignant fans have taken offense at Corden’s statement, with some accusing the host of “using BTS for clout.”
james corden is now in army's black book. he used armys and bts for clout idc
— min sarah (@tanseok) September 21, 2021
james corden was never bts’ friend, stop kissing his ass already. to call bts “unusual guests” of the UNITED NATIONS as if they havent already dropped millions on donations, voice their views on climate change and have spoken up about equality of gender, age and sexual identity +
— rahma !? (@jhobiekiss) September 21, 2021
James Corden you must read this! pic.twitter.com/HYdEnHD3UJ
— ?⁷ (@alea_dc) September 22, 2021
Angry fans also expressed their disappointment at the host for “stereotyping” ARMY’s as 15-year-olds.
James corden really just came and called us all 15 year old girls unprovoked pic.twitter.com/hqhKuTDBEM
— ellie?⁷ (@jooniejadore) September 21, 2021
Ok so James Corden deleted. I hope that he is seriously contemplaring on his words. pic.twitter.com/xKrlXa0SjK
— A BEE (@askydoodles) September 22, 2021
We may be a bunch of 15 year old. But we're going to protect @BTS_twt just like we paid for it.
— ???????'? ?????? (???) ???? (@BTSxARMY98) September 22, 2021
Fake love ft. James Corden pic.twitter.com/ybG2rwckeg
The K-pop superstars have made several appearances on The Late Late Show With James Corden since 2017. One of their group's popular appearances include the “Carpool Karaoke” segment which has over 88 million views, as of this writing.
BTS has recently made K-pop history after making their voices heard at the 76th UN General Assembly as South Korea’s special presidential envoy for future generations and culture.
The group delivered a heartfelt speech about youth empowerment and performed the track Permission to Dance at the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Moment event ahead of the 76th UN General Assembly.
Banner and thumbnail photos from @bts_bighit’s Twitter account, HYBE Corporation, and iMDb