EXO’s Latest Photo Faces Criticism Over Alleged Manipulation Amid CBX Controversies

EXO is facing backlash for their new teaser and recent group photo.

The controversy began when EXO dropped the trailer for their upcoming project titled REVERXE. Fans immediately noticed the name closely resembles Baekhyun’s 2026 solo tour called REVERIE. That similarity set off angry reactions online right away.

Soon after, EXO’s six members posted a photo wearing their iconic “Wolf 88” shirts with the caption “WE ARE ONE EXO.” This sparked even more fury from fans.

Most fans felt the post was insensitive and manipulative, accusing EXO of trying to use nostalgia to erase and exclude Chen, Baekhyun, and Xiumin from group history and future activities.

“Imagine losing half of the members because you couldn’t manage them RIGHT.”
— @THEENANZ

“using nostalgia to manipulative everyone lmao performative af”
— @modeljeongie

“Remove that ‘we are one’ for love’s sake. It’s so hypocritical, corny, hollow, and completely meaningless now.
We’re not the 10-13 y.olds we were back in 2014. You can’t drag that shit out again and expect us to faint from happiness.”
— @ry3my

“With every post they make, I feel even more insulted because they really thought we’d be stupid enough to be blinded by nostalgia and so easily manipulated?
Wear the Wolf t-shirts all you want, we can count, and we haven’t forgotten that three members are unfairly absent.”
— @btn1kk

“Isn’t that a bit too much now?
We’re no longer talking about a new album or a comeback… we’re trying to rewrite history… we’re trying to ELIMINATE three people!
They want to act like THEY NEVER EXISTED!!!
It’s not just moving on, it’s throwing away the memories we spent…”
— @Kyoongnini

The tension around EXO’s comeback grows as fans call out what they see as erasure of former members. Lay’s return is also teased amid this uproar, adding to the mixed feelings.

Watch the controversial REVERXE trailer here: