It’s been a week since BLACKPINK’s new song, “Pink Venom”, was released. This is the first track off their upcoming album,Born Pink, due September 16. Already “Pink Venom” is a smash hit, setting records on YouTube and Spotify:

Jennie, Jisoo, Lisa, and Rosé are about to build even more momentum this weekend as they’re performing at the MTV VMAs for the first time ever; they are also nominees. Earlier this week they dropped the dance practice video for “Pink Venom” giving a full look at the choreo for the song. This is a taste of what we can expect on Sunday – stripped down, of course. Because it’s not like they would spoil their own surprises. On Sunday, on that stage, we’ll see much more than dance practice. Also, needless to say, there will be LOOKS. I can’t wait to see them on the red carpet.

In other BLACKPINK related news, though… and this might get me into trouble since we’re dealing with two very protective fanbases here, BLINKS and ARMYs…but before you start doxxing or hacking me, the rumour has to do with two members, respectively, of the two biggest bands in the world. It’s my job as a pop culture writer to cover this content. And, frankly, to me, the bigger story is why western pop culture outlets HAVE NOT covered it. This is like if Baby Spice Emma Bunton was rumoured to be dating JC Chasez back in 1998 (they’re the same age, by the way). Our heads would have exploded. It would have been the top story everywhere. If there was social media back then it would be a takeover and a meltdown, even if it was just a rumour. And this is the current-day equivalent, so I can’t NOT talk about it. Again, I’m amazed other western media isn’t talking about. If it were artists who perform exclusively in English with their level of fame, would this be the case?

So here’s the situation: it’s been rumoured for months now that BLACKPINK’s Jennie and BTS’s V are dating. I KNOW, RIGHT?!

It started back in May when this photo was shared on social media of someone who people think might be V in a car with someone who people think might be Jennie on Jeju Island.

When asked to comment on the speculation, BLACKPINK’s label, YG Entertainment,released this statement:

"We have nothing to say [regarding this matter],” and added, “We will inform you if we have a different response to share.”

这是…不是否认。与此同时,BTS的公司tally ignored it. They have, however, denied dating speculation about V in the past. Last November V was involved in another rumour about him dating an heiress andthey shut that down pretty quickly.

After that initial alleged sighting in May, though, everything went quiet …until this week. When two photos surfaced online of Jennie and V together. In the first shot, Jennie is taking pictures while V is getting his hair styled. In the second they’re by the elevators at his apartment.

It’s been days of online forensics with fans arguing back and forth over whether or not these photos have been photoshopped. Some are insisting that the whole thing is a fraud, accusing the person who posted them of being paid to manipulate the images. Some are all like, OK but if these fakes, where are the originals…because I guess none of the shots of Jennie and V that are in these possibly fake photos have been seen before.

Once again, YG Entertainment responded to the rumours by not really responding and redirected the conversation back to BLACKPINK’s promotional activities:

“BLACKPINK will depart the country on August 25, and they will be busy taking on a tight schedule in the United States including theMTV Video Music Awardsperformance as well as promotional activities for theirsecond full-length album.”

So…is this legit or not? I have no eye for whether an image has been f-cked with. I can never pick out the crimes whenever the Kardashians do some sh-t with their Instagram photos resulting in online mess and mockery; this is not my skillset. My focus is on impact – or, rather, potential impact. Because we’ve all seen this happen in two previous generations. There was Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake. Then there was Taylor Swift and Harry Styles. The ten year anniversary of Haylor is this year and at the time, if you remember, in the months before they went public, the media and the fans were closely following the situation –here’s a threadif you want a hit of that nostalgia. Both Britney and JT and Haylor were mega, like supernova, pop culture moments.

I’m not saying Jennie and V are real. What I’m saying is that IF they are real, given how massive BTS and BLACKPINK both are, it would be a huuuuuge f-cking deal and even the speculation about whether or not it is real should be a bigger story than it is.