Bruno Mars addresses 'mocking' Taylor Swift after major backlash

Bruno Mars has addressed reports of 'mocking' fellow singer Taylor Swift after being accused of liking a social media post claiming the 'Ophelia' star was 'talentless'.

It all started when pop culture page, Pop Flop, took to X on Sunday (15 March) to share a post featuring a photo of Swift alongside a screenshot of what appeared to be an Instagram reel of an official BTS X post.

The screenshot showed a video of Swift performing on stage, along with the caption: "Genuinely how did she get famous? White privilege is crazy because imagine if an Asian was as untalented as her."

The screenshot also showed the 'likes and views' on the post, claiming it was 'liked by' Mars.

Pop Flop captioned the post: "Fans notice that Bruno Mars liked an Instagram reel hating on Taylor Swift for being 'talentless'."

Pop Flop posted a screenshot that appeared to show Bruno Mars 'liking' a social media post that was mocking Taylor Swift (X)

In a follow-up post, the account outlined that the screenshotted Instagram post was not actually posted by BTS' official X account.

It was later revealed, however, that the screenshot had been 'edited'.

Just a brief scroll through the official BTS X account shows no recent mention of Swift at all this year.

"— The Instagram post contains an edited screenshot designed to appear as though it was posted by BTS’ official Twitter/X account," Pop Flop wrote around 10 minutes after sharing the original post.

"This post was never made by BTS’ official account on the platform."

Mars has now addressed the situation (Kevin Mazur/WireImage for MTV)

Per Pop Faction, Mars has 'since unliked the post' after his initial alleged approval.

A few hours later, Mars himself also commented on Pop Flop's post, explaining: "Taylor has always been supportive and kind to me. Only love over here."

He rounded off the comment with a red love heart emoji.

A subsequent post also read: "Spread Love on these apps!"

At the time of writing, the post has racked up over 1.6 million views.

Mars assured fans there was 'only love' between him and Swift (X/@BrunoMars)

Despite this, the page has kept the original post up, which prompted major backlash from fans.

"So, delete. You’re setting BTS up," slammed one X user, as a second urged: "Delete this or edit the post clarifying what happened to the image. Clarify in the post, not in the comments."

"Then why you post this??? Delete," echoed another.

And a final critic added: "Edited screenshot trying to get people in drama and causing hate."

Tyla has reached out to Pop Flop, Taylor Swift, BTS and Bruno Mars for further comment.