Red Velvet Joy Faces Strong Backlash Over Recently Deleted Post

Red Velvet’s Joy is facing major backlash for promoting McDonald’s Korea in a now-deleted post.
The controversy began when McDonald’s Korea tweeted a new ad featuring Joy on January 30, 2026. The tweet promoted the return of their “One Bite Choco Churros” with Joy happily singing in the video. But the post was quickly deleted amid growing outrage.
Soon after, netizens flooded the comments, slamming SM Entertainment and Joy for endorsing McDonald’s, a brand currently under boycott. Fans and haters alike questioned whether idols even have a say in these deals, especially pointing out how long SM artists like TVXQ’s Yunho have been tied to the brand.
Here’s the deleted tweet from McDonald’s Korea before it vanished:
조이도 괜히 콧노래 부르게
만드는 달콤한 봄이 봄, 츄러스 만나볼래?
2026년 2월 3일
한입 초코 츄러스
COME BACK!#맥도날드 #해피스낵 #한입초코츄러스 pic.twitter.com/QevfRBOQtz— 맥도날드(McDonald’s) (@KOR_McDonalds) January 30, 2026
Fans dragged SM for repeatedly linking their artists with McDonald’s, despite past backlash.
“gonna put it here
im disappointed and mad as hell”
— love splash! ^^ (@joynamitee)
“what’s with SM artists and their obsession with endorsing McDonald’s. just give the job to somebody else outside the company, no need to pass it down from one act to another”
— kirsten dunst’s sasaeng (@kulibuncis)
“this is beyond disappointing and infuriating. sm has gotten backlash EVERY TIME their artist has done this sponsorship. sorry, but sm knows and just doesn’t care. no one should defend this.”
— reina (@AWHlTENIGHT)
“Dear SM stan,
Your fave is NEXT! ”
— MARKUS LEE¹⁹⁹⁹ #TheFirstfruit (@NotYourM__arkf)
“sm does everything to ruin the rv girls because why the hell are u making them collab with mcdonalds? making literal blood money”
— finney (@ningningeek)
The original promotional video was shared by fans and remains available on social media.
#조이 맥도날드 한입 초코 츄러스 광고 너무 예쁘다앙 완전 봄이야 pic.twitter.com/RDRgAGNm8i
— 맑음쨩 (@zoooie_1) January 30, 2026
Netizens continue to express frustration with SM Entertainment’s repeated McDonald’s collaborations and the impact on Red Velvet’s image.

Stay tuned as this backlash unfolds.