The Korean wave is gaining momentum worldwide, especially in the West, and it’s also leaving a mark on the global entertainment industry. Numerous stars, including Emma Stone, Ryan Reynolds, and John Cena, have openly expressed their affection for K-pop music and singers.
In this article, we’ll take a closer look at some Hollywood celebrities who are big K-pop fans and have shared their love through social media and interviews.
John Cena
The former WWE superstar John Cena is a big BTS fan, with J-Hope being his favorite member. He’s shared his love for the band and reasons behind it in various interviews, including one on The Late Late Show with James Corden.
He even playfully tweeted BTS, asking if they needed a new bodyguard.
BTS and John Cena have been exchanging supportive tweets that gained massive popularity.
Pardon my language but HOLY SH*T!!! @jimmyfallon as if I couldn’t love you any more!! @bts_bighit @BTS_twt are huge @WWE fans!! 🤯🤯🤯 Hope one day we can meet!! You’re amazing Jimmy Fallon! @FallonTonight #BTSArmy https://t.co/jTC6u4uWYw
— John Cena (@JohnCena) February 25, 2020
Dylan O’Brien
Dylan O’Brien is a huge Blackpink fan. In 2020, BLACKPINK dropped their Netflix documentary titled Blackpink: Light Up The Sky. He declared it as his favorite during an interview with Netflix Brazil, urging everyone to check it out.
Moreover, O’Brien’s reaction to BLACKPINK’s performance during the 2022 VMAs became a viral TikTok meme. In the video, he scrambles to find his camera to record the performance and enthusiastically shouts “I love you” to Lisa when she appears on stage. His authentic and unfiltered reaction won over fans, making him all the more adorable.
Emma Myers
The Wednesday star is a fan of several K-pop groups, but her ultimate favorite is none other than SEVENTEEN. Emma Myers took on the delightful task of introducing the group and their unique concept during a viral interview on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. She couldn’t contain her fangirl persona as she shared her five-year-long devotion to the group. Emma also revealed the clever origin of Seventeen’s name – a combination of their 13 members, three distinct sub-units, and one united team, adding up to Seventeen.
Emma Stone
Academy Award-winning actress Emma Stone is also into K-pop. Back in 2015, during an interview with Conan O’Brien, she shared her latest obsession with Korean pop music and she’s a big fan of the South Korean girl group 2NE1. She even mentioned that she found out about them during the Spiderman movie premiere in Seoul and her all-time favorite 2NE1 track is “I am the Best.”
Max Minghella
Max Minghella is a big BTS stan. Minghella shared on The Late Late Show with James Corden that he and O’Brien went to a BTS concert together. Surprisingly, it was O’Brien who introduced Minghella and Elle Fanning to the captivating world of K-pop, igniting their newfound passion for it.
In the interview, Minghella confessed to his attempts at mastering BTS’s dance moves but with somewhat limited success. As the show progressed, Corden put Minghella’s BTS knowledge to the test, and he aced the quiz with his surprisingly deep understanding of the group.
Ryan Reynolds
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Ryan Reynolds is a die-hard fan of the K-pop sensation EXO, and he even joked about joining the group when he shared his picture with six members of EXO. The star ran into the EXO members when he was in Seoul for the premiere of his Netflix flick, 6 Underground.
The EXO stars were equally thrilled about it, and Chanyeol repaid his love by posting a cute selfie with the Deadpool star.
But that’s not all. Back in 2018, Ryan Reynolds pulled off a surprise by guesting on the Korean singing competition show King of Mask Singer as a contestant with a rendition of “Tomorrow” from the musical Annie.
Will Smith and Jaden Smith
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Will Smith made a memorable visit to YG’s headquarters in South Korea in 2013, three years before BLACKPINK made their debut in the K-pop scene.
Jaden Smith also mentioned G-Dragon in a series of tweets in 2016, saying, “G Dragon is my inspiration.” Much to his joy, the Korean star responded warmly with, “Good seeing you! Always a pleasure. Let’s do something together!”
It seems the entire family has been keeping up with YG artists closely. Will took to Instagram, proudly declaring himself and his wife, Jada Pinkett-Smith, as ‘official fans’ after catching the electrifying performance by BLACKPINK at Coachella in 2019.
Shawn Mendes
Shawn Mendes also has a serious thing for K-pop, and he’s head over heels for BTS. In a 2018 interview with Radio Disney, the Canadian singer couldn’t stop gushing about his love for K-pop and said, “Of course, I love BTS. I’m, like, obsessed with watching the videos of them dancing.”
He met BTS in person during the AMAs back in 2017 and expressed interest in collaborating with the band.
Maisie Williams
#IDOLCHALLENGE pic.twitter.com/fz8p6EmFgT
— Maisie Williams (@Maisie_Williams) September 6, 2018
Game of Thrones star Maisie Willaims star showed her love for BTS on Twitter. It all began when a curious ARMY asked if she was a fan, and she responded with a resounding “Yes, I stan BTS for life.” The actress also confessed that her bias is Jungkook and even showcased her impressive dance moves in the viral #IDOLCHALLENGE.
Notably, her Twitter header featured a clever Photoshop image of her inserted into BTS’s 2019 Grammys group picture.
Camila Cabello
Cuban-American musician Camila Cabello is also a well-known K-pop enthusiast. During a music show in Japan in 2018, the “Havana” singer had the chance to meet the K-pop group TWICE, and they took photos together. In these snapshots, Camila was seen striking TWICE’s signature ‘TT’ pose, causing fans to go wild on TWICE’s Twitter account.
During one of her interviews on that Japan trip, Camila Cabello expressed her deep admiration for TWICE’s song “Candy Pop,” highlighting her K-pop fandom.
Halsey
The American pop star is a huge K-pop enthusiast in Hollywood. Her fandom journey with BTS began at the 2017 Billboard Music Awards when she met the group in person. Since then, she quickly became an outspoken fan, even sharing her excitement on Twitter.
In 2018, she tweeted her admiration, stating that the “boys are A+” and that they inspire her immensely. This mutual appreciation led to their collaboration for “Boy With Luv,” which garnered a staggering 1.7 billion views and still going super strong.
Their bond continued to flourish as they performed “Boy With Luv” together live at the 2019 Billboard Music Awards, solidifying their special connection in the music world.
Sabrina Carpenter
Sabrina Carpenter has never hesitated to express her love for K-pop. She has shared songs like “Bad Boy” by Red Velvet and “DDU-DU DDU-DU” by Blackpink on her Instagram story. In 2018, she made headlines when she had a delightful meeting with the Red Velvet members, captured in adorable candid shots with them. She also had the chance to meet AKMU’s Suhyun. Carpenter has consistently voiced her admiration for girl groups, expressing her desire to collaborate musically with either Blackpink or Red Velvet in various interviews.
During her 2018 tour in Japan, Carpenter went the extra mile by learning TWICE’s Japanese comeback release, “Candy Pop,” and performed it for her fans. She even left an enthusiastic comment, saying “so cute tf,” on Enhypen’s TikTok page after member Jake posted a video featuring his viral song, “Nonsense.”
In 2023, Sabrina Carpenter presented TWICE with the Breakthrough Award at Billboard’s Women in Music Awards.
