On September 1 and 2, 2026, BTS opened a four-night run at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, the last North American stop of the ARIRANG World Tour. Over those first two shows, RM and j-hope revealed their new tattoos to fans. But the reveal and their ending ments have split the fandom. The division continues over RM and j-hope’s Chris Brown controversy.
RM’s tattoo was revealed on September 1. It is a short line on his bicep that reads “a human.” He already had the group’s shared “7” on his ankle, a bass clef on his wrist, a natural sign on his other bicep, and a tree on his back. j-hope’s tattoo appeared on September 2. It’s located on his thigh and shows the seven members in the Butter formation that spells ARMY with their bodies.
Dr. Woo later posted the work as new ink done in Los Angeles. The lines that spread with the clips came from the September 2 ending ment.
RM said:
“I want to show j-hope’s new tattoo. Did you see that? It’s the biggest tattoo he’s ever had. BTS and ARMY.”
j-hope said:
“BTS ARMY forever”
Another clip making the rounds the next day has RM saying,
“I got BTS on my chest and I got you army on my back.”
Some posts treated the tattoos and the ment as the usual talk between the group and ARMY. Others are still disappointed over the lack of talk on the topic from RM and j-hope.
Expressing their frustration, one fan quoted what RM said during the ending ment and said:
““i got BTS on my chest and i got you army on my back” -RM You said it with that cocky, “ARMY has my back” attitude. Not anymore, no. Funny how you still have that same attitude while being called out everywhere. The AUDACITY.”
They continued:
“And I’m not any less ARMY because I refuse to agree with you when you fu*k up. Holding you accountable doesn’t make me less of a fan. @bts_bighit @BTS_twt #가해자반대ARMY #WomenAgainstAbusers #폭력반대ARMY #ARMYsAgainstAbusers #ARMYsAgainstChrisBrown #방탄소년단”
More fans chimed in, expressing their disappointment over their new tattoos and ending ments. Several fans reposted images of the tattoos and expressed their thoughts on them. Some pointed at RM’s shredded T-shirt.
On the other hand, several fans defended RM and j-hope over this.
BTS’ RM and j-hope at ARIRANG LA shows
Day 3 of the Los Angeles run was September 5 at SoFi Stadium. The surprise songs on Day 3 were HOME and Pied Piper.
During his ending ment, RM said:
“You guys are so lovely and beautiful. I just wanna eat y’all sometimes.”
j-hope asked if Los Angeles had fun, then noted there was one North American show left and that he was already a little sad about it. He said he had dinner the night before with Jungkook and V, and that they agreed every moment of the tour so far had been beautiful.
He said he was holding those moments close, that he had been busy that day trying to take each one in, then thanked the crowd for being there again, said he loved them, and told them to get home safely. j-hope also linked the night’s surprise song HOME to the city, saying LA was their home.
The group has one more show left to perform at SoFi Stadium on September 6.
Edited by Toshali Kritika
