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James Corden ribbed BTS fans, a.k.a. the "Army," with an "ageist" joke that failed to resonate with them on social media.
The Late Late Show host posted and later removed the clip of his comment in which he talked about the wildly popular South Korean boyband's visit to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York on Monday.
'The Late Late Show With James Corden' deletes videos of the host calling BTS's appearance at the UN 'unusual' in response to backlash from ARMYshttps://www.allkpop.com/article/2021/09/the-late-late-show-with-james-corden-deletes-videos-of-the-host-calling-btss-appearance-at-the-un-unusual-in-response-to-backlash-from-armys\u00a0\u2026— allkpop (@allkpop) 1632281566
Corden prefaced his joke by referring to the seven-member boy band as "unusual visitors" and theorized why they would be found at such a formal gathering, even though it was their third appearance at the U.N.
"People say why are BTS there? The world leaders have no choice but to take BTS seriously."
"At the end of the day, BTS has one of the largest armies on planet Earth."
FOR THOSE WHO DONT KNOW WHATS UP W JAMES CORDENpic.twitter.com/dwetonvOgm— hobi \u270c\ufe0f (@hobi \u270c\ufe0f) 1632270832
What followed next was the statement that riled the BTS Army, which is comprised of fans of all ages and not exclusively teenagers.
"Historic moment. It actually marks the first time 15-year-old girls everywhere found themselves wishing they were Secretary General of the United Nations António Guterres."
What fans took to be an ageist remark rubbed many of them the wrong way, especially after Corden had invited BTS on multiple occasions on his show.
He was even dubbed "Papa Mochi" because of his tight rapport with bandmember Jimin, a.k.a. "Mochi."
But he was papa mochi..\n Why— _Call me 'N'__ (@_Call me 'N'__) 1632322583
no free clout honestly he dragged that papa mochi thing for too long, and dyna his favourite song on be, he\u2019s fake af wbk— H\u2077 \u22c6\u207a\u208a\u22c6 \u263e \u22c6\u207a\u208a\u22c6 \u2601\ufe0e | ifb\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\uddfa (@H\u2077 \u22c6\u207a\u208a\u22c6 \u263e \u22c6\u207a\u208a\u22c6 \u2601\ufe0e | ifb\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\uddfa) 1632271416
Corden invoked a trope about boy bands throughout music history having a fanbase primarily consisting of teenage girls, but his attempt to roast fans with it did not land well.
And he said "it's only bout 15y'o girls inside"\nHeyy helloo, i mean exuce me. I'm a mother of 15y'o and i'm an army too. Duhhpic.twitter.com/etZbJFOrKQ— christian_chimmchimm (@christian_chimmchimm) 1632295771
I'm 25… i know 44, 36, 29 years old armies… he just messed up 🤮
— mel teriake • 💜 (@MTeriyake) September 23, 2021
Got news for him. I\u2019m a senior citizen, and my sister is 49. We\u2019re both fans. We\u2019re no 15 year olds.— DangCarp (@DangCarp) 1632283294
Everyone drop your age with your profession and let show someone that we all are not 15 y/o girls...\nI'm 21 year old, Senior Medical Student and proud to say a corona warrior...\n#GotARMYRightBehindYou \n#GotARMYRightBehindARMY— HetVbear\u2077\ud80c\udd02 (@HetVbear\u2077\ud80c\udd02) 1632320494
I've attended International and national MUNs and won best delegate award as well and I'm proud to say that. I was 14 when I went to UN to attend my first MUN meeting. I care a lot about SDGs and environment. As an ARMY I'm prove that what James said is totally ridiculous. Shame!pic.twitter.com/ksPVB9aXOd— K-star World\u2077 on YT\ud83e\udde1 (@K-star World\u2077 on YT\ud83e\udde1) 1632282605
Well its bts's 3rd year at the UN so i wouldnt say its unusual for them to be there...\nWhat i think is worse is that he generalized all army into one steriotype(is that how you spell it?)\nHe wanted to make a joke...yeah i get it but jokes like that makes it even harder for us to+— Jacky_Grande\u27ed\u27ec\u2077 (@Jacky_Grande\u27ed\u27ec\u2077) 1632364059
Now, some members of the BTS Army are demanding an apology from the television personality.
JAMES CORDEN DELETED THE VIDEO?? \nWE BETTER GET AN APOLOGY AS WELLpic.twitter.com/xUr2LQqXUC— H\u2077 \u22c6\u207a\u208a\u22c6 \u263e \u22c6\u207a\u208a\u22c6 \u2601\ufe0e | ifb\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\uddfa (@H\u2077 \u22c6\u207a\u208a\u22c6 \u263e \u22c6\u207a\u208a\u22c6 \u2601\ufe0e | ifb\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\uddfa) 1632270447
He\u2019s definitely the next person on BTS\u2019 unfollow list LMAO— \ua4b0 bia \ua4b1 \u2077\u2661\u2089 \u0618 \u0fd4*:\uff65\uff9f (@\ua4b0 bia \ua4b1 \u2077\u2661\u2089 \u0618 \u0fd4*:\uff65\uff9f) 1632271946
Just because he deleted his video doesnt mean we are gonna delete what he said from our minds. Should have thought better.pic.twitter.com/iUEjLml1ug— addy\u2077 's luck has run out (@addy\u2077 's luck has run out) 1632288205
I cant believe im agreeing with armys but this is not cool, i expected so much more from james, after years of watching him...i thought he was different but i guess i was wrong.— Mickey (@Mickey) 1632283589
well... to the blacklist he goes— gloss\u2077 \ud83d\udc2f\ud83d\udc30\u2661 (@gloss\u2077 \ud83d\udc2f\ud83d\udc30\u2661) 1632272530
Some people were more forgiving of the host but identified the root of the issue.
I think it\u2019s just a badly written joke. And he delivered it badly too...he\u2019s not being super offensive, but damn. Some better writers are needed— Astra. (@Astra.) 1632286142
This is my issue with it too. It\u2019s lazy joke writing. The right joke to make would be \u201cthe UN was never as relevant without BTS, look at the amount of views they got\u201d— Astra. (@Astra.) 1632286086
For their third appearance at the United Nations and to kick off the gathering on Monday, BTS screened a video performance of "Permission to Dance," which was shot on the grounds of the U.N. headquarters of New York.
The group also discussed climate change, digital community, vaccines, and the younger generation's role in shaping a better future.
More than one million viewers watched their appearance at UNGA, online.