KATSEYE AMA Acceptance Speech Draws BTS Backlash After Three-Win Night

KATSEYE’s AMA acceptance speech became a flashpoint after the group thanked BTS during its New Artist of the Year remarks at the 2026 American Music Awards in Las Vegas. The moment followed a major awards night for the HYBE and Geffen Records joint girl group, which won three categories and also performed during the ceremony.¹

The discussion around the speech has since centered on the KATSEYE BTS Backlash, after Koreaboo reported that the BTS mention drew criticism from some netizens.² The controversy sits alongside confirmed results from the ceremony, where KATSEYE won New Artist of the Year, Breakthrough Pop Artist, and Best Music Video for “Gnarly.”³

KATSEYE AMA Acceptance Speech Included A BTS Shoutout

캣츠아이 AMA 수상소감 BTS backlash Seoul music scene

KATSEYE’s New Artist of the Year win was reported as the group’s first-ever American Music Award. GMA News Online reported that Sophia Laforteza thanked Bang Si Hyuk and the HYBE-Geffen team before giving BTS a special shoutout during the speech.⁴

In the remarks cited by Korea JoongAng Daily, Sophia said, “We want to give a special shout-out to BTS tonight for inspiring us to represent our culture at a global scale.”³ Lara Raj also framed the award around representation, saying, “We’ve always been on a mission to celebrate diversity and represent our people and cultures.”³

StarNews reported the group also thanked BTS, who were present at the ceremony, with the Korean line translating to gratitude toward BTS “who are here with us right now.”⁵ The outlet reported that Korean member Yoonchae expressed gratitude for being able to share the moment with the other members.⁵

The Dong-A Ilbo reported that Yoonchae said the group would continue expressing its culture with pride.⁶ Those remarks aligned with the broader theme of the acceptance speech as reported across outlets: KATSEYE connected its New Artist win to cultural representation, diversity, and the influence of BTS as a global act.

Three Wins At The 2026 American Music Awards

KATSEYE’s awards haul extended beyond New Artist of the Year. Multiple Korean outlets reported that the group won three awards at the 2026 American Music Awards: New Artist of the Year, Breakthrough Pop Artist, and Best Music Video.¹ Korea JoongAng Daily identified the Best Music Video win as being for “Gnarly.”³

StarNews reported that KATSEYE won New Artist of the Year over nominees including Alex Warren, Ella Langley, Leon Thomas, Olivia Dean, and sombr.⁵ YTN separately reported that the group also performed during the ceremony, adding a performance appearance to its three-win night.¹

The AMAs were also a significant night for BTS. Korea JoongAng Daily reported that BTS won all three of its 2026 American Music Awards nominations, including Artist of the Year, and noted that the AMAs are fan-voted.³ The Dong-A Ilbo listed BTS’s wins as Artist of the Year, Song of the Summer, and Best Male K-pop Artist.⁶

That shared awards-night context is central to why the speech received attention. KATSEYE’s BTS mention came during a ceremony where both acts won multiple awards, and where BTS’s own wins were among the evening’s most prominent K-pop-related results.

Backlash Focused On The BTS Mention

Koreaboo reported that KATSEYE’s mention of BTS during the AMA speech sparked major backlash from some netizens.² The outlet also documented confirmed ceremony context, including KATSEYE’s AMAs red-carpet debut and the group’s New Artist of the Year win, using posts from the official AMAs account and a CBS/Variety clip of the speech.²

The available source material identifies the backlash as a reaction from some netizens, but it does not establish that criticism represented all viewers, all BTS fans, or a consensus across the ceremony audience. The confirmed facts are narrower: KATSEYE won New Artist of the Year, thanked BTS during its acceptance speech, and the mention became the subject of online criticism reported after the broadcast.

The direct wording of the speech, as reported, emphasized inspiration and cultural representation rather than a detailed claim about BTS’s role in KATSEYE’s career. Sophia’s comment credited BTS with inspiring the group “to represent our culture at a global scale,” while Lara’s remarks pointed to diversity and representing people and cultures.³

KATSEYE AMA acceptance speech BTS mention backlash concept

KATSEYE’s AMA acceptance speech has therefore become part of a broader post-ceremony conversation: a three-award breakthrough for the group, a direct BTS acknowledgement onstage, and a backlash that followed online. Based on the available reports, the clearest confirmed takeaway is that the speech tied KATSEYE’s New Artist of the Year win to representation and BTS’s global influence, while the reaction showed how closely such acknowledgements can be scrutinized in K-pop fandom spaces.