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'Forbes Respect Jungkook' trends as BTS' maknae image gets cropped out of article

ARMYs have reprimanded Forbes Magazine for not including Jungkook on the cover of their article for BTS' wins at the 2021 EMAs

BTS’ fans are mostly "OT7s," meaning they love all 7 members equally. This is a popular stance among ARMYs thanks to the BTS members themselves, who are very particular about every single member getting equal respect and attention. Fans have therefore walked in the footsteps of their idols, embracing the 'BTS is 7' stance. ARMYs like to ensure that all seven members of the group receive equal treatment from other fans as well as the media.

ARMYs have also never been hesitant to talk about their needs and voice their anger directed towards people that have wronged the seven BTS members in one way or another. This time around, Forbes magazine is under fire, targetted by BTS ARMY for an article's botched cover image. On November 15, Forbes magazine released an article on their website that talked about how the South Korean boyband, BTS dominated MTV EMA’s (European Music Awards) by bagging not one or two but four wins at the event.

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Forbes writes about BTS at EMAs

BTS was nominated for four EMA’s this year and they bagged all of them, which was more or less predicted since BTS has become a global phenomenon. The Forbes article actually acknowledged BTS’ global domination, pointing out that they were the only act at the European awards show to bag the most number of wins. What did not sit well with fans of BTS was that Forbes committed a big blunder while putting together the article's cover image.

Forbes used a screen-grab from BTS’ winning speech at the show which was embedded into the MTV logo that was rather stout. Due to its compressed nature, the logo was not able to fit all the seven members of the group in its margins and Jungkook, the youngest member, was cropped out. Something like this would seem inconsequential to any casual listener of the group, but fans of BTS have long known about the xenophobia directed against BTS members and other K-pop groups. For instance, the group has been asked if 7 members were "too much" and why some of them hadn't been fired already.

Haters also make fun of BTS members for "looking similar." Therefore, fans find it necessary to point out that each member has a distinct identity within the group and each one has contributed to the group's collective success. In short, one member does not equal another and none of them are expendable. Despite BTS' stratospheric rise, there are still many who do not know much about the group. This is why unnecessary omissions like the Forbes' fiasco continue to happen, leaving fans feeling that their idols have been disrepected.

‘BTS is 7’

Fans were quick to show their displeasure at Forbes magazine error. One fan said, "BTS IS 7. FORBES RESPECT JUNGKOOK. Please change the picture or fit it properly! They are 7 so you have to make sure that all the members are clearly visible in the picture." Another fan said, "What wrong with you? BTS is 7 not 6." One fan said, "Where is Jungkook?? Fix it as soon as fast. FORBES RESPECT JUNGKOOK." One more fan said, "Fix it quickly @Forbes. Jungkook of BTS is missing."

Another fan asked, "Forbes Respect Jungkook. BTS is 7, how dare you all post a picture in which of golden maknae, Jungkook is croped... Repost the right picture." One fan said, "BTS IS 7 & they always will be. A large company like #Forbes must take care of their action as it can circulate the whole globe. JK is cropped out from the pic & it’s hurtful for us to have 1 member out. So kindly requesting you to clear the mess - Armys."