The Pixel Project has removed BTS member Kim Nam-joon, better known as RM, from its list of ’16 Male Role Models Helping to Stop Violence Against Women.’ The organization suspended RM following backlash over his association with controversial American singer Chris Brown.
The Pixel Project suspended RM from its role-model list after his Chris Brown photo sparked backlash
The Pixel Project, which named RM to its list of male role models in December 2024, issued a statement on August 19 announcing his suspension. The statement read, “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,” it further read.
The organization said it had previously cited RM as a case study in its Father’s Day 2025 op-ed on the importance of imperfect male role models. The statement said RM had shown a willingness to unlearn misogyny, sexism, and toxic masculinity. The Pixel Project said it was indefinitely suspending him from its list of male role models. The organization also said it would review and revise its Father’s Day 2025 op-ed, which featured RM.
The controversy erupted after fans spotted RM and J-Hope at Brown’s concert in Toronto on August 12. The 37-year-old pop star co-headlined the show with Usher at Rogers Stadium. BTS will also perform at the same venue on August 22 and 23.
An Instagram Story shared by J-Hope showed him and RM singing and dancing along to Brown’s set. Brown later shared a photo featuring himself with the two BTS stars. The posts drew criticism from fans over their public support for the singer. One of them wrote, “F**k domestic violence. F**k chris brown. F**k minimizing what he’s done because this situation happens to involve BTS. I am a woman before I am an army, and there is not a man on this earth I’ll be a fan enough to make me compromise on that sh*t.”
Brown has faced multiple legal cases related to allegations of violence over the years. In 2009, he pleaded guilty to assaulting his then-girlfriend, Rihanna, reports Billboard. Several other assault charges followed, and Brown was jailed in Los Angeles in 2014. Brown faces sentencing in London on October 26 after pleading guilty to affray over a 2023 nightclub attack.
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