As fans witnessed, BTS attended the αмєяι¢αn Music Awards 2026 on May 25 (local time). Although their appearance was relatively brief, it became one of the biggest highlights of the entire ceremony as the group achieved a hat trick of awards, including the grand prize, Artist Of The Year. With this triple win, BTS has now increased their total number of AMAs trophies to 14, ranking second among the groups with the most awards in the show’s history, behind only Alabama with 23 awards.

Not only did BTS score major wins, but they also received enthusiastic attention from international artists. Queen Latifah — the host of the awards ceremony — even dedicated part of her opening speech to praising the group, saying: “How about BTS performance? And they're so pretty. D*mn. How they do that ”. Meanwhile, SZA emotionally shared upon meeting BTS in person: “It’s so nice to meet you formally in person.”  The singer repeatedly looked toward the group and confessed, “It’s crazy that this is the moment, so I had to take this moment to just let this be the moment.”

And of course, many celebrities also took the opportunity to snap photos with the group after the event. KATSEYE and legendary αмєяι¢αn rapper Busta Rhymes both shared friendly moments with BTS, receiving positive reactions from online communities.

However, not every post was welcomed in the same way! The case of the ceremony’s two presenters, Ludacris and GloRilla, is a prime example. They have become the center of controversy after sharing photos with BTS on Instagram and X (formerly Twitter).

What upset fans was that none of the pictures could be considered “perfect” or properly showcased all the members. Every photo had a “not everyone was ready for the picture” vibe: Jimin was barely visible in the photos, while in some shots RM, Jin, and Jungkook were either unclear or partially blocked. In another photo, SUGA appeared to be blinking, resulting in what many described as an awkward expression.

Many people questioned why the artists would upload such incomplete-looking photos. On social media, numerous comments argued that it reflected a lack of basic respect toward a global group like BTS. Some netizens even accused the presenters of simply using BTS to gain more attention and publicity for themselves rather than genuinely appreciating the moment of meeting the group.

Some internet users also suspected that GloRilla was “throwing shade” at Megan Thee Stallion, who previously collaborated with BTS and received praise for her photos with the group at the Billboard Music Awards.

At the moment, fans and netizens are continuing to leave critical comments under the two rappers’ posts, including:

- To be honest I don’t know you.. I could have tried to search for you on Spotify.. but you didn’t even bother to check if the picture you will tweet includes all BTS members

- Who the h3ll are you and why did you crop thee Jimin out of the photo

- For those choosing to be disrespectful, which is unnecessary — the images are from Ludacris’s IG. And you need to scroll about 6 in to get to one where Yoongi’s eyes are open and Jimin is literally мιѕѕιиg from pic

-  What that's really difficult to choose perfect photo where jm is standing or u choose intentionally I r an jm anti I don't know who u r but u r clearly a яα¢ιѕт

- It's basic etiquette to show some respect to artists u r taking pic with. This mean girl energy shows how ugly u r

- You should check the picture carefully next time before you post it. Jimin is hiding behind you, Yoongi eye is half closed wtf you just posted picture because you look good in it shm

- Maybe next time before doin a pic check if there are 7 people ,+ you and whoever you were with ,since bts is a group of 7.

- If you’re going to post pictures with BTS, at least choose photos where all the members can actually be seen properly. This feels disrespectful

- It honestly looks like Ludacris and GloRilla cared more about proving they met BTS than making sure the group looked good in the photos

- Why upload pictures where some members are blocked, blurry, or blinking? BTS deserved better than these careless posts