VANNER's Label Apologizes After Placing Fake Bomb, Gun on Praying Mat for Pictorial  

Earlier this December, boy group VANNER announced the release of their 2025 season's greetings, VVeird Office, teasing the fandom VVS with a mysterious preview.

The team hinted at two versions — Victory Company and Victory Man. The blurred versions initially drew excitement, with VANNER hinting at a double-life concept.

The first one signals an office guy vibe, with the members seen in uniforms, while the second cover teases a spy theme, with the members flaunting their visuals in suits, guns, and a bomb placed on a table.

However, the anticipation was replaced with sour reactions when the clear version of the Victory Man cover was unveiled. In the now-deleted photo, a fake time bomb and gun were on a praying mat.

Upon seeing this, fans who are members of the Muslim community were enraged, and immediately called out VANNER's creative team for using Islam's praying mat for a pictorial.

Following the massive backlash, VANNER's label KLAP finally addressed the issue in an official statement.

"We have confirmed that the VANNER 2025 SEASON'S GREETING contains pictorial props that have religious symbolism. As a result, the concept photos containing these props were deleted, and the entire photobook was also re-edited and reviewed," said the company.

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"We do not have any intention regarding the religious meaning of the prop, but we sincerely apologize to those who were hurt because of this oversight. We promise to avoid this from happening again in the future through thorough reviews."

Despite their apology, the statement didn't sit well with the fandom, with many still doubting their claim that it was unintentional.

"A bomb on a praying mat? Yeah, whoever thought of this concept gotta be Islamophobic," wrote a netizen.

In the middle of the criticism, VVS, however, has one request from fans.

"As much as I hate this (as a Muslim), please don't spread hate to these guys (VANNER) but to the company," pleaded the boy group's supporter.

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