There have been some unexpected reactions to BTS J-Hope‘s recent mention of American artist Rihanna.
On May 20, Billboard released an exclusive video interview with J-Hope, during which he spoke about his life and solo career.
During the interview, J-Hope was asked about artists he would possibly like to collaborate with. While his shoutouts to Doechii and Sexyy Red were noteworthy…
…the first artist he mentioned is someone who he has talked about before, Rihanna. He mentions that he has loved her as an artist since he was a kid, and that he too is waiting for her next album.
His hopes for a collaboration were shared on X (formerly Twitter), where the sparked discussion. While some politely “shot down” his hopes due to Rihanna’s non-focus on her musical career, others left far more critical comments.
Specifically, many “called out” his claim of liking her since he was a kid, due to their current ages.
"since I was a kid" https://t.co/VoCxcC9A8e pic.twitter.com/0CTPireTPJ
— ْ (@KPOP_SAGA_) May 20, 2025
Rihanna is 37 and ur 31 😑😑😑😑 kid where???? https://t.co/PPypMxV1Bv
— 𝚙𝙰𝙽𝙳𝙰🐼 (@Asrah257) May 20, 2025
You are literally almost the same age as rihanna so what's with "when I was a kid I loved her". 💀😭 https://t.co/nsOdGk7DFo pic.twitter.com/5TpFOyrotz
— 𝒮𝓅𝓇ℯ𝒶𝒹 𝓅ℴ𝓈𝒾𝓉𝒾𝓋𝒾𝓉𝓎 ❤ (@bponrepeat_1) May 20, 2025
While it is true there is a less than 6 year age gap between the two stars, Rihanna has been active in the industry for over two decades. Her breakout debut, “Pon de Replay” charted worldwide when it was released in 2005, when J-Hope would have been around 11 years old.
This fact was brought up by those who defended the idol, saying that his claim actually did make sense.
Not his fault he already had good taste in music when he was 11 years old pic.twitter.com/j5C34Icsyn https://t.co/HIZfdilM0A
— Luna (@beymagicshop) May 20, 2025
j-hope em 2005 / rihanna em 2005 https://t.co/xZCk5jjsW3 pic.twitter.com/QEZo3RtRYp
— nalie • echo (@thfcverse) May 20, 2025
People claiming that J-Hope wasn't a child when Rihanna debuted — even though he was only 11 years old at the time — are giving off some seriously questionable vibes. What do you mean 11 isn't a child? https://t.co/5ZnYmAm3xG
— NARA⁷ (@AVECNARALU) May 20, 2025
Conflict aside, if there is someone to get Rihanna back in her musical bag, J-Hope would be a great candidate to try!
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