BTS RM Removed From The Pixel Projects Male Role Model List Amid Chris Brown Row

The Pixel Project has removed BTS leader Kim Namjoon, aka RM, from its list of 16 Male Role Models Helping to Stop Violence Against Women. The move comes amid growing backlash over RM's recent association with singer Chris Brown, who has faced multiple allegations and legal cases involving violence against women over the years.

Last week, RM and fellow BTS member J-Hope attended a concert featuring Usher and Chris Brown. The two were later photographed with Brown, with the images drawing criticism online. The backlash centred on their decision to publicly associate with Brown, particularly given his widely documented history of violence, including his 2009 assault of then-girlfriend Rihanna. Brown has also faced other allegations and legal cases involving assault and violence over the years.

Explaining its decision, The Pixel Project said it had included RM in its 2024 list in good faith after conducting due diligence into his public record and advocacy.

"In 2024, we included Kim Nam-Joon – better known as RM, the leader of BTS, the biggest boy band in the world. We did so in good faith after conducting due diligence, which showed that he had taken steps over the years to address his own internalised misogyny, support women in the arts, and speak out about violence against women in intensely patriarchal South Korea," the organisation said.

Infelizmente o The Pixel Project, organização já utilizada como fonte de recursos da ONU, suspendeu o Namjoon de sua lista de modelos masculinos no combate à violência contra as mulheres. Nota oficial: "A partir de hoje, estamos suspendendo indefinidamente RM da nossa lista de… pic.twitter.com/dtNP03li8E

— jini⁷ (@juridicojinniie) August 19, 2026

The organisation added that it had also previously cited RM as an example in a Father's Day 2025 op-ed about the importance of imperfect male role models, noting that he had, until then, demonstrated a willingness to reflect on and unlearn misogyny, sexism and toxic masculinity.

However, The Pixel Project said it had been waiting for RM to publicly address the controversy surrounding his attendance at the concert and his photograph with Brown. After a week without a response, the organisation decided to act.

"The Pixel Project had been waiting for RM to issue a public statement or acknowledgement regarding the Chris Brown concert before we responded to this controversy. However, it has been a week of silence on RM’s part, and that silence is deafening," the statement read.

if the comments of chris brown are real, then bts really need to actually address the situation. because THIS is what happens when u promote a known abuser, the abuser then thinks they are untouchable. this isn't okay. chris brown has BEATEN WOMEN.

[ss is stolen] pic.twitter.com/3Ct6nOBiv

The organisation added that it had also previously cited RM as an example in a Father's Day 2025 op-ed about the importance of imperfect male role models, noting that he had, until then, demonstrated a willingness to reflect on and unlearn misogyny, sexism and toxic masculinity.

However, The Pixel Project said it had been waiting for RM to publicly address the controversy surrounding his attendance at the concert and his photograph with Brown. After a week without a response, the organisation decided to act.

"The Pixel Project had been waiting for RM to issue a public statement or acknowledgement regarding the Chris Brown concert before we responded to this controversy. However, it has been a week of silence on RM’s part, and that silence is deafening," the statement read.

The organisation added that it had also previously cited RM as an example in a Father's Day 2025 op-ed about the importance of imperfect male role models, noting that he had, until then, demonstrated a willingness to reflect on and unlearn misogyny, sexism and toxic masculinity.

However, The Pixel Project said it had been waiting for RM to publicly address the controversy surrounding his attendance at the concert and his photograph with Brown. After a week without a response, the organisation decided to act.

"The Pixel Project had been waiting for RM to issue a public statement or acknowledgement regarding the Chris Brown concert before we responded to this controversy. However, it has been a week of silence on RM’s part, and that silence is deafening," the statement read.

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— livi⁷ ⊙⊝⊜ (@ygponde) August 16, 2026

It further pointed to BTS' enormous global influence, arguing that the members' actions carry weight beyond their personal choices.

"BTS is currently the biggest boy band in the world; their every action has a huge impact and influence on pop culture and the global audience. Whether they like it or not, they are public role models by default, and with this great power comes great responsibility."

The organisation stressed that it did not expect male role models to be perfect. However, it said that being a role model also means taking accountability when one's actions cause hurt or disappointment.

"RM’s (and J-Hope’s) choice to take that photo with Brown is, at best, careless about the wider damaging impact that comes from publicly associating with a known abuser whose track record of violence, notably cases of severe violence against women including Rihanna, is so extensive there is a Wikipedia page dedicated to it."

The organisation also noted that Brown perceived RM and J-Hope's presence as their support for him and has gone after a female BTS fan for speaking out against him.

"Like many men who appear progressive when it comes to women, it is now clear that RM lives with a cognitive dissonance he has either not registered or examined: Many well-meaning men who read feminist books and treat the women and girls in their lives well have privilege blinkers that blind them to the ways in which the patriarchal system brutalises and fails women and girls again and again. They are also reluctant to call out or disassociate themselves from other men who display sexism, misogyny, and violence against women, especially men whom they perceive would benefit them," it continued.

The organisation then asked J-Hope and RM to remember that their fandom is majority women and girls. It also asked RM to remember his years of effort in supporting female artists, authors, educating himself about feminism and consulting with a professor of women's studies about his lyrics. Furthermore, the organisation listed statistics that 1 out of 3 women will experience gender-based violence in their lifetime. And in South Korea alone, 19.4% of women reported experiencing violence from an intimate partner in their lifetime.

RM now remains indefinitely suspended from The Pixel Project's list of male role models. RM, J-Hope and BTS' agency, HYBE, are yet to publicly respond to the controversy or The Pixel Project's decision at the time of writing.

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