Clarifying the BTS ARMY Bullying Incident Involving Shelby Maynard

On March 11, 2025, Canadian model Shelby Maynard, recognized for her role in BTS member j-hope’s “Sweet Dreams”music video, took to TikTok to address recent allegations concerning bullying from the BTS ARMY. In her video, Maynard expressed her gratitude towards fans and emphasized that they had not bullied her, countering narratives that had emerged online.

“Anyways, I like you, guys, thanks for including me BTS Army. Hell yeah, I like the jokes you make,” the model stated.

This clarification came following a flurry of online chatter initiated after j-hope’s highly anticipated “Sweet Dreams”music video featuring Miguel dropped on March 7, 2025. The video’s mysterious female lead, whose face was partially concealed, sparked significant curiosity among fans eager to identify her. Consequently, the ARMY generated a series of humorous edits and memes surrounding the unidentified woman’s appearance.

One particularly popular joke humorously compared the unidentified female to BTS leader RM donning a blonde wig. The veil surrounding Maynard’s identity was lifted when she shared behind-the-scenes footage from the music video on March 8, confirming her role as the female lead. Amidst a humorous exchange, she later posted a TikTok, playfully suggesting that the “ARMY is bullying me.”

However, the tide turned on March 11 when Maynard clarified her stance, revealing that she had enjoyed the playful banter with fans. Responses from the ARMY were mixed; one user from X tweeted:

“Sis nobody bullied you.”

Despite the positive clarification, some fans voiced skepticism, suggesting that the model’s reference to bullying was a ploy for attention. Comments included:

“She doing too much, comes across like an attention seeker,”shared a user.

“Maybe she wanted attention ’cause her face was not shown in the MV,”noted another fan.

“Really … no one bullied here, it just felt she did it for clout honestly. All she had to do was say ‘thank you j-hope’ and nothing else, yet she made this big fake scenario,”another netizen commented.

Conversely, some followers defended Maynard, arguing her comments were merely misunderstood and intended as lighthearted jokes instead of complaints:

“She was probably joking lol,”stated a fan.

“Army, about the girl in the Sweet Dreams MV.. she was just joking. Many didn’t pay attention that she was referring to the funny edits in the description of that TikTok and the ‘HAHAHA’. She posted others later and she’s nice + confirmed she didn’t feel bullied,”another user added.

“Am I the only one who understood that she said it as a joke because of all the edits they were doing with the scene where she shows her face? From there, the misunderstanding occurred,”commented yet another follower.

j-hope’s Solo Venture on The Tonight Show