The moment was captured on camera.
Critically acclaimed filmmaker Bao Nguyen has landed himself in hot water with BTS fans.
Nguyen is the director of BTS’s upcoming Netflix documentary, BTS: The Return, which documents the behind-the-scenes moments of the septet working on their latest album, ARIRANG.
Though the documentary has yet to be released, a recent Vulture article offered exclusive sneak peeks. The article claimed that “the most surprising moment” of the entire documentary was when all seven members of BTS were seen spending an afternoon hanging out on a beach in Santa Monica. Despite their global popularity, the group was not mobbed by the public.
However, Nguyen apparently had hoped for a different outcome.
Nguyen told the press that he had actually been hoping for a Beatles-esque moment in which they were recognized, but the members ended up being able to kick around a ball, sit, chat … and, yes, go for a swim.
— Vulture
This particular remark didn’t sit well with many fans, and they took to social media to call out Nguyen.
hoping for them to get mobbed and chased yeah everyone needs to be fired pic.twitter.com/6e6quoHdzr
— silly dog⁷ (@rjsoup) March 25, 2026
no guys, this better be 1) a joke 2) bad written cause ain’t no fucking way someone is hoping for that…like how insane do you have to be to hope for that https://t.co/JMUErHcdst
— 🪭future’s gonna be okay⁷🐳🍉 (@STHYNJJ_613) March 25, 2026
Nguyen and Nicole Kim need to be gone and not associate with anything BTS do again
— tana (@cupofsaoirse) March 25, 2026
Many, however, gave him the benefit of the doubt, hoping that the article was just badly framed.
I feel inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt and assume this was poorly worded, and that it’s meant that he “anticipated” or “expected” that but was pleasantly surprised because why tf would you hope for that https://t.co/lrPfuSUzUo
— Krys 🪭⁷ (@thejinnieeffect) March 25, 2026
wait wait, i think he means he’s just surprised that this didnt happened guys, cause they’re really famous. I dont think he means he’s disappointed that this didnt happened…I hope so https://t.co/yvK3WO1OMC
— 𝑩¡e⁷⋆✮ ⊙⊝⊜ (@jungoosebumps) March 25, 2026
Y’all know that “hope for” is another way of saying “expect” right?? It’s not that he wanted them to get mobbed, but knowing how big they are he was thrown off by the fact that the boys have fans who respect their privacy idk at least that’s how I understood it https://t.co/m7ydiGSlVE
— pipo ta ARIRANGADA ⊙⊝⊜🪭 (@kooniverses) March 25, 2026
Meanwhile, the same article also exposed a HYBE executive’s role in ARIRANG‘s lyrics-related controversy. Read here:
Blame For BTS’s “ARIRANG” English Lyric Controversy Directed At Well-Known HYBE Staff
