As fans already know, on the 14th, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) and Global Citizen officially announced the lineup of performers for the halftime show of the 2026 CONCACAF World Cup Final, including BTS, Shakira, and Madonna. The event will take place on July 19 at New Jersey Stadium in New Jersey, United States.
FIFA stated that this will mark the first official halftime show ever held during a FIFA World Cup Final. In addition, BTS’s participation in this mαѕѕive sporting event created a huge sensation worldwide. BTS became the first K-pop act ever to perform on the World Cup halftime stage, demonstrating the powerful reach of pop culture beyond music as well as the immense global influence of кσяєαn superstars.
Immediately after the announcement, global social media exploded with numerous keywords related to BTS, the FIFA World Cup 2026, and the upcoming historic stage. Not only that, both кσяєαn and international media continuously reported on the event, placing particular emphasis on BTS — the group currently “setting cities across the αмєяι¢αs on fire” with their sold-out world tour that began in April.
However, amid the wave of excitement among fans, a controversial incident involving CBS News New York suddenly erupted across social media!
Specifically, during a “28 Days Until FIFA World Cup 2026” countdown broadcast, CBS News New York mentioned that BTS would be one of the three headlining performers at the halftime show alongside Shakira and Madonna. Everything seemed normal until the station used a group photo of BTS to illustrate the news segment — but completely cropped Jimin out of the image. The original photo clearly featured all seven members, yet the edited version shown on air only included six.
As soon as fans noticed the issue, they collectively voiced their outrage on X (Twitter), calling it a serious mistake and deeply disrespectful toward the BTS member. Numerous posts quickly garnered tens of thousands of interactions within a short period of time, turning the incident into a hot topic within the international ARMY community.
One fan account with over 1 million followers led the backlash with the post: “Jimin was excluded from BTS photo during the broadcasting about BTS performing on FIFA HALF TIME SHOW on May 14, 2026. @CBSNewYork”. The account further emphasized: “Excluding a member is not acceptable and a sabotage. Please correct this and show the professionalism expected of leading media. BTS IS 7. RESPECT JIMIN”.
Removing a member from a group photo — especially while reporting on BTS’s official activities — is completely unacceptable. What made fans even more furious is the fact that CBS News is widely regarded as a major and legitimate αмєяι¢αn media outlet αѕѕociated with high journalistic standards, yet it committed such a basic mistake in its own broadcast.
Many people did not rule out the possibility of editor negligence or a framing issue during the editing process. Nevertheless, regardless of the reason, it does not change the fact that CBS News appeared highly unprofessional and disrespectful toward both Jimin and BTS. The phrase “BTS IS 7” continues to be widely used by fans to emphasize that all seven members are inseparable parts of the group.
At present, the “RESPECT JIMIN” movement is still spreading rapidly across social media, with fans continuing to criticize the media outlet relentlessly:
- @CBSNewYork correct this oversight and show the professionalism and respect expected from a major media outlet. BTS has always been and will always be seven
- @CBSNewYork. SAY SORRY MFs. Excluding a member is not acceptable and a sabotage
- BTS is 7 and they are disrespecting Jimin by excluding him. Fix it. Shame on you @CBSNewYork
- Intentionally cropping out a member is such a weird behaviour. Act professional or leave this field to better journalists. BTS IS 7. RESPECT JIMIN
- This is straight up bs! FIXED IT! BTS IS 7, SHOW SOME RESPECT!
- I actually called CBS personally. The lady I spoke with said she was an army and is also upset about it. They said they’re going to rectify the situation and recognize how wrong and completely unprofessional it was.
- Somehow it’s often Jimin who is left out. Is it because he mostly stands on the side? Anyway, this is completely unacceptable
- How does a major media outlet crop out an entire BTS member and think it’s okay? This is disrespectful and unacceptable. RESPECT JIMIN
- BTS has 7 members. Editing Jimin out of the group photo is beyond unprofessional. CBS News owes him an apology
- Whether it was intentional or not, excluding Jimin from an official BTS image is unacceptable. Do better, CBS
- A global media company making such a careless mistake with BTS? Imagine how tired we are. Respect Jimin and correct it immediately
