Following BTS' Taehyung's recent attendance at the the annual opening ceremony of Frieze Seoul 2025, the city's biggest art week, several pictures and videos of the idol interacting with many fellow celebrities landed on the internet. One such celebrity was the K-pop soloist, Eric Nam.In one of the videos featuring the two K-pop idols, Taehyung and Eric Nam were seen hugging and interacting fondly with one another. This interaction also reminded fans and netizens that they have been friends with each other for a long time.Regardless, many netizens were unhappy about the same due to Eric Nam's past controversies. Back in 2023, the idol was criticized for liking an Instagram post that allegedly advocated for neutrality in Israel's conflict with Palestine. This led to backlash against the BTS member for engaging with someone who holds an allegedly controversial stance. However, fans soon came to his defense and explained that the criticism was forced and unfair. Many people explained that several other K-pop idols were seen interacting with Eric Nam after the controversy, and people also joined the idol's podcast series held through DIVE STUDIOS.Since there was not much criticism or hate directed towards these idols, fans felt that the BTS members were often made into targets during controversies. Here are a few fan reactions regarding the same."The hate towards bts is insane, the boys never did anything to anyone, i can't understand why they hate him so much," one fan said.Line⁷ 👻 @whatsupallie_LINK@Sceneryvn1ae The hate towards bts is insane, the boys never did anything to anyone, i can't understand why they hate him so muchMany fans and netizens chimed to defend the idol and his interaction with Eric Nam.lrashid @ThisissmeraldoLINK@Sceneryvn1ae Eric has always supported BTS, evn when they were nugus. That is why the boys like him.#idk @bwiakgaeLINKso ridiculous armys are pretending bts hasn’t been close with eric nam for years like taehyung greeted him once and now they’re acting like he’s the only member whos besties with him so they can take out their another round of frustration on him 😭😭190811kook | ⟭⟬ᴱ ᴬᴿᴱ ᴮ⟬⟭ᶜᴷ @TaeTemptationLINK@Sceneryvn1ae No one not a single soul gives 2 cents of fvck until and unless it's 875Malikah @malikahh58LINK@Sceneryvn1ae Why all of a sudden everything BTS members do is a problem. So when they go to events they must now go in a bubble suit n speak and look at nobody, just stand in a corner all night and after event hurry to their car n leave.Others also shared that the two K-pop idols are close with each other because of Eric Nam's support towards BTS ever since the group was an underground artist.idk @PnkagustLINK@Sceneryvn1ae Eric, being a zionist was brought up ages ago. So the only one taking issues now is you because it involves Taehyung.ann @d0214051165730LINK@Sceneryvn1ae taehyung breathes and is suddenly the only one responsible for every sh*t, he needs to be free from armys and kpop stans, he needs a normal audience and not some white keyboard warriors on his a*s every damn dayConchita⁷🌸 @MinSugarRushLINKSo now bts is getting hate bc tae hugged Eric?? Jfc They literally cant even BREATH w/o sh*t a*s people claiming they are terrible.frizzy @frizzy2022LINK@Sceneryvn1ae Because the boys knew him. He was among those who believed in them during their early days.All you need to know about BTS's Taehyung and his solo activitiesBTS' V or Kim Tae-hyung made his solo debut with the release of his first studio album, LayoVer, in September 2023. The album featured the song, Slow Dancing as its title track, and he also expressed that LayoVer stands as a tribute to the relationship he shared with his now-late pet dog, Yeontan.In December 2023, the idol enlisted in the military to fulfill his mandatory service. He served as a Sergeant in the Ssangyong Military Police Special Task Force, which is an elite counter-terrorism unit. Regardless of his enlistment, the idol rolled out three singles in 2024. The first was in March 2024, called FRI(END)S.Taehyung followed this up with two winter releases in December called Winter Ahead with Park Hyo-shin and a posthumous collaboration with the American singer and actor, Bing Crosby, called White Christmas. On the other hand, he was discharged from his military service in June 2025 after the successful completion of his tenure.Following the same, Taehyung made his first public event appearance at the 2025 Paris Fashion Week as Celine's ambassador for the luxury brand's 2025 Spring/Summer collection fashion show. He also recently collaborated with W Korea as Celine's ambassador for the cover of the magazine's September issue.