Coffee Shop’s Apology For Using Popular Idol’s Face In AI Triggers Even More Backlash
Recently, fans discovered a photo of a popular idol for a coffee shop and garnered much attention online.
In the photos, fans were shocked to find NCT’s Jaehyun posing as a model for Blissway Coffee.
These photos garnered over three million views online with fans mass reporting the company for using his face for AI to promote their brand.
someone used ai to create an add for their coffee brand what the fuck https://t.co/m8QZq0VXUa
— rini ｡◕ ̫ ◕｡ | 주먹밥냥이 (@tyongisacat_) April 7, 2026
isn’t this an infringement of copyrights and should be reported 😠 https://t.co/l2nqlZ8eq5
— yve 🥃 (@alwaysjae0214) April 8, 2026
Report to kwangya this café for using Jaehyun's image to edit it for their brand https://t.co/QOFZd8sJPH
— 🌹+🍑=❤️ MayLowkeykalat (@MayLoWrites) April 8, 2026
Not long after, the brand posted an apology online.
“Hello, I did mention this to someone who just contacted me…First off, this wasn’t something I had been looking at closely, so I deleted it shortly after. I apologize once again for any inconvenience I may have caused. Since I did not proceed with any malicious intent and the celebrity was someone I was interested in, I think I was completely unaware of the resemblance. I am truly sorry.
Since I received it upon request, I never even considered that it might be similar. I apologize once again for causing the inconvenience. If this was done intentionally, I am undeniably at fault, but since that is not the case, I would be grateful for your understanding. I have immediately proceeded with the deletion and am reviewing the matter once again.
Because of my age, I failed to realize that this was a very famous celebrity. I didn’t think much when posting it. I didn’t even realize they looked alike, so I have deleted the image. I will discuss this internally tomorrow, delete this account, and create a new one in the future. Once again, I apologize for the inconvenience at this late hour.”
— Blissway Coffee
However, fans weren’t buying it that they did not know who he was.
- “What is this? This is happening at an actual cafe and not a birthday cafe event?”
- “How did they run the AI for a specific celebrity to show up?”
- “A celebrity that I’m not interested in? What do you mean? Does that even make sense?”
- “How is this even possible? Unless they specifically mentioned a celebrity, you’re saying that a specific idol’s face comes up when you run AI? LOL.”
