"Disrespectful and clout chasing"- Fans angered as SM Entertainment uses NCT 127 Taeyong's baby picture in the group's latest Walk music video

On Monday, July 15, NCT 127 released the official music video for their latest comeback, Walk, which does not feature Taeyong, the group's member and leader, due to his military enlistment. During the dance break of the music video, several fans and netizens noticed that the idol's baby picture was included, which confused and angered many.

They expressed that they were not happy with the inclusion of the idol in his childhood pictures, which aimed to evoke a sense of empathy from the viewers. They also claimed that this was because the Walk music video was re-recorded without the idol, especially after he took time from his solo comeback promotions during TAP's release to record and film for Walk.

Therefore, fans were angered that SM Entertainment made it seem like they were including Taeyong to the best of their abilities despite allegedly removing the idol's contributions to the album. This recent issue added to the company's previous use of AI to create images and videos of the idol for the Walk MV Teaser.

One fan on the platform X (formerly known as Twitter) said,

"Before y'all fall for this they re recorded it without taeyong voice for MV version but used his baby pic as bait to make fans tune in. Just disrespectful and clout chasing"

Fans found both instances disrespectful toward the idol and called out SM Entertainment for their actions. Here's how fans reacted to the agency's recent use of his baby picture in the Walk music video:

"SM puts so much effort into cutting Taeyong's lines, yet still tries to remind us of his presence. It makes no sense and feels manipulative…" - said a fan on X

"no normal person works at this company. edit out his voice, then edit his baby pic back in the mv. actual p*ycho behavior" - said another fan on X

"What was the point of including his picture if they were going to remove his voice? What were they thinking? He's a real person. A real artist. Not an AI that can be used to satisfy the company's whims." - said a third X user

More fans expressed their displeasure with SM Entertainment's alleged actions of removing Taeyong from the comeback but including him through other means.

"sm has constantly disrespected taeyong throughout this entire era starting with using ai to create his likeness to removing his voice in the mv but I’m supposed to believe that this moment is genuine and heartwarming" - said a netizen on X

"Erm no, this is creepy af. Is there a single creative brain cell in that company?" - added another netizen

"disrespected taeyong the whole cb and now exploiting a baby that has nothing to do with this sh*t like the concept isnt even something cute lol bunch of weirdos i swear" - said another X user

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NCT 127's Walk comeback and Taeyong's current military enlistment updates

On Monday, July 15, NCT 127 released their sixth studio album, Walk, which consisted of eleven songs in total. They also released a music video for the album's title track, which shares the same name as the album. However, Taeyong was not a part of this comeback due to his current military enlistment.

Fans also believe that the idol was present for the album's track recording, which took place before his enlistment in the military. However, they claim that his voice was later removed from the tracks as he wasn't included in the concept photos, teasers, and music videos, which were filmed after his enlistment.

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On the other hand, the idol is currently enlisted in the ROK Navy as the "New Recruit 2nd Squadron Platoon Leader." He kickstarted his service on April 15 and is most likely expected to be discharged around December 2025.