EXO have officially made their long-awaited comeback with their new studio album REVERXE. However, instead of excitement, the release has been surrounded by controversy from the moment it was announced.
The main reason is the absence of CBX members Chen, Baekhyun, and Xiumin, who are currently locked in an ongoing legal dispute with SM Entertainment over contracts and profit distribution.
SM Entertainment previously stated that it was “impossible” for CBX to participate in the comeback due to the lawsuit. Since then, the EXO fandom has been deeply divided, with fans arguing over whether support should go to the remaining members, CBX, or both. That divide has only grown wider following comments made by Chanyeol.
In the “Thanks To” section of REVERXE, Chanyeol publicly thanked SM Entertainment CEO Tak Young Joon, who is directly involved in the legal conflict with CBX.
From the first half of 2025, with the help of so many people, EXO’s 8th full-length album, REVERXE, has finally been released. I would like to sincerely thank CEO Tak Young Joon and everyone at SM from the bottom of my heart.
— EXO’s Chanyeol
While some may see this as a routine professional acknowledgment, many fans interpreted it very differently given the timing and context.
holyfuck unnecessarily name dropping and thanking the exact man who did ur friends of 13 yrs wrong, exploited them and is still involved in an active legal battle against them is a new low, may a friendship like this never find me 🙏🏻 https://t.co/OfVZHNKkDH
— baekyoncé🎀(▀▀̮▀) (@sosweetbbh) January 20, 2026
The CEO who helped them on their comeback ❎
The CEO who sued CBX, excluded them from the group comeback, prevented EXO from having 9 members, and broke up and upset the fandom ✅
This was exactly the person Chanyeol was thanking. https://t.co/rpZ1mZc2Un
— EXO_9_little_Bear 🐻 (@weareoneEX87362) January 20, 2026
Given that this man is publicly thanking #this who’s suing his former groupmate, yet exols still insist the EX0 members love each other a lot https://t.co/nBjBtDowOR pic.twitter.com/R2Q7mLDKZh
— 𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐊 🥛 (@wterblink) January 20, 2026
thanking the devil himself lmao im not surprised knowing they helped him clean up his cheating scandal. he'll be forever in the shackles of that company until he retires https://t.co/SSDqCI959N
— bel 💟 (@1topbbh) January 20, 2026
So they are not spineless after all turns out they are evil and hateful like hell https://t.co/pwsgcwjGdM pic.twitter.com/2IexG9kvdA
— 🩷🏩 (@CBX_toSaturn) January 20, 2026
i am honestly disappointed that came from his own mouth… i can’t believe it was him of all people
— joy 🔮 (@byundaelight) January 20, 2026
