After working with Jungkook on “Standing Next to You” (2023), world-renowned director Tanu Muino returned in 2026 to helm two explosive music videos, “SWIM” and “Normal,” from BTS’ ARIRANG album. Her signature style is known for fashion-forward visuals, high energy, dynamic camera work, surreal production design, and a touch of humor.

Tanu Muino is also the “golden hand” behind a string of global нιтs for major artists, including Lil Nas X’s “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” (2021), Harry Styles’ “As It Was” (2022) and “Daylight” (2023), Cardi B’s “Up,” Dua Lipa’s “Illusion,” Jennie (BLACKPINK)’s “Mantra,” and Lady Gaga’s “Disease,” among many others, as well as major campaigns for Dior, Gucci, and Apple.

On the 28th of this month, following BTS’ notable three-award sweep at the 2026 MTV VMAs, Tanu Muino shared a post celebrating the group’s success and the achievements of “SWIM.” The director wrote, “I could spend a lifetime watching you .. Swim best kpop, song of the year. congratulations, team!”, alongside a series of behind-the-scenes photos from the making of the music video.

Little did anyone expect that a simple congratulatory post would soon spark a major controversy involving both the director and BTS.

One of the photos, showing Tanu Muino kneeling in front of the BTS members while the group stood behind her, suddenly became the center of criticism after the post was widely shared. The comments under the post and across social media quickly filled with a wave of harsh reactions.

Some people criticized the pose, arguing that the image carried an inappropriate implication. BTS, in particular, was directly targeted with harsh criticism, with some accusing the group of being misogynistic. After seeing BTS being criticized, some people who identified themselves as ARMYs also jumped into the controversy without fully looking into what had actually happened. They even attacked the female director, arguing that she had failed to think carefully before posting the photo and had put BTS in a bad light, while demanding that she remove it.

Amid the backlash, Tanu Muino eventually deleted the group photo and turned off the comments, leaving only the photos of herself in the boat setting where “SWIM” was filmed. The move was seen as the director’s attempt to calm the controversy while preventing both herself and BTS from being dragged further into negative accusations.

But was the photo really a sensitive image involving BTS and the famous director? No! In reality, it was her signature pose whenever she collaborates with an artist.

Before BTS, the director had taken similar photos while working with Harry Styles, Lil Nas X, Lenny Kravitz, Rosalía, Dua Lipa, and The Weeknd. To her, the pose is more like a humorous meme and a personal signature used to mark milestones throughout her career.

In other words, the photo was created as an artistic and stylized pose, rather than an inappropriate or disrespectful act, and certainly not a situation where someone was forced to kneel. Yet when the exact same type of pose appeared in the context of BTS, many people — including some who identified themselves as ARMYs — reacted negatively and turned it into a matter of morality.

One ARMY pointed out: “Always kpoppers obsessed for BTS, you are pathetic!!” Another fan expressed their frustration, writing: “So she deleted the posts and turned off the comments? Congrats, ARMYs, you all ρσℓι¢єd and bullied a woman to do what you deemed as morally correct, really feminist of you lot!” Other fans also shared their thoughts:

- It was solos yes and antis yes but also armys, like i was scrolling thru her page and saw wayyyy too many lil sevens questioning her feminism and attacking the tannies

- How can you be so awful and disrespectful toward a woman? This is her signature with every artist she works with, but once again, because of fake news like this, THE WOMAN gets penalized and removes a signature that represents her work and could bring her more views and other opportunities. Congratulations, K-pop!!

- Tanu is free to do any pose, and she’s the one posting it on her ig. if you ρσℓι¢є what she preferred to do then your selective feminism goes down the drain.

- Right...you are the Misogynist here btw lol. Never tell a woman what to do or not do fungly unloved twink

- The desperation to force a narrative about misogyny here is genuinely embarrαѕѕing. The woman in the photo is Tanu Muíño, a world-renowned music video director, and crouching or kneeling beside artists is literally her signature photo style. You are not protecting women; you are just weaponizing a woman's own aesthetic choices for cheap Twitter engagement

- Imagine condemning others for misogyny while simultaneously harαѕѕing a woman over a signature pose that she herself chose. The hypocrisy is truly embarrαѕѕing. Shame on every single one of you.

- This psychotic behavior jst to blame bts for a grown woman's signature pose that she's always done with other celebs? bfr yall don't care about women u are js desperate to drag bts