CORTIS leader Martin is facing scathing backlash from BTS fans after a viral clip compared his words about his group’s success to a famous RM moment, reigniting a long-running rift between the fanbases of BIGHIT MUSIC’s first and newest boy groups. Critics accused Martin of copying RM, while others argued the comparison was unfair.
CORTIS’s Martin and BTS’s RM (Credits: BIGHIT MUSIC)
CORTIS’s Martin Faces Backlash Over RM Comparison
Ever since CORTIS’s debut, Martin has been compared to RM, with many fans noting a visual similarity between the two leaders. Those comparisons have repeatedly fuelled tension between the two fandoms, and a recent viral clip comparing them side by side has set it off again.
The clip shows Martin saying that each CORTIS member contributed only 5% to the group’s success, with 25% going to their staff and the remaining 50% to their fans. It then cuts to RM saying the same thing during BTS’s Permission To Dance press conference, where he credited fans with 50% of the group’s success, attributed 5% each to the seven members, and gave the rest to their agency.
BTS fans were immediately irked, accusing Martin of intentionally copying RM to replicate BTS’s public image, and some speculated that it was a calculated move by BIGHIT MUSIC itself. Others went further, saying Martin had even copied RM’s hand movements and personality, with one viral post claiming he was trying to swap destinies with Namjoon.
Why the Martin and RM Debate Keeps Flaring Up
The backlash also reflects a deeper argument about the two groups’ different starting points. Several fans pointed out that BTS debuted with a struggling company and were carried by ARMY in their early days, something the agency itself acknowledged, while CORTIS debuted with the backing and privilege of a major label. In that light, critics argued, the same words land differently.
Others pushed back on the pile-on, saying Martin is a good leader in his own right and hoping he is allowed to be his true self rather than being measured against RM at every turn. Martin had previously sparked heated reactions for mentioning RM’s role in his artistic journey, so this is not the first time his admiration for BTS’s leader has turned into a flashpoint.
For now, the clip has done what these comparisons always do: turned a shared sentiment about fans into a proxy war between fandoms, with Martin caught in the middle of a comparison he may not have invited.
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Source: Koreaboo — read the full story there.
