Blackpink and Kiss of Life.
Picture-Illustration: Vulture. Images: Emma McIntyre/Getty Photographs for Coachella, Han Myung-Gu/WireImage
We’re solely 5 days in, but it surely appears like a complete month of discourse has already already been crammed into April. A number of Ok-pop idols have been going through criticism amid an ongoing discourse about whether or not the Ok-pop business respects Black folks as a lot because it admires Black tradition. To be clear, this isn’t a brand new dialog by any means — worldwide followers have been elevating considerations round anti-Blackness and cultural appropriation in Ok-pop for years. However this previous week has felt particularly notable to some folks due to the close to back-to-back timing of those scandals. Beneath, what to know concerning the alleged previous use of the N-word by Jennie, Lisa, and Rosé of Blackpink, the apparently “old-school hip-hop” themed Kiss of Life livestream that each one 4 members have now shared a joint handwritten apology for, and different latest controversies.
On March 30, a person who claimed to be a former YG Leisure worker started posting content material (together with purportedly leaked movies, unreleased music, and allegations about romantic relationships) regarding idols from throughout the Ok-pop business. This so-called “YG leaker” shared a number of clips that allegedly present three of the 4 members of Blackpink — Jennie, Lisa, and Rosé — singing or rapping the N-word whereas protecting songs as trainees previous to their debut as a YG Leisure group in 2016. Whereas not everybody trusted the authenticity of the supply, sufficient of those clips had been circulating that some folks began creating compilation movies to depend what number of instances every member appeared to have used the racial slur. (YG Leisure and representatives for Jennie, Lisa, and Rosé didn’t instantly reply to Vulture’s request for remark.)
Blackpink followers who had been harm started calling for the members to apologize. Some expressed doubt that Rosé and Jennie might have been totally unaware of the importance of the slur as a result of their backgrounds as English-speakers; per an Elle interview, Rosé was born and raised in Australia, whereas Jennie spent a part of her childhood finding out in New Zealand earlier than returning to her native Korea. (Lisa, who moved to Korea to coach when she was 14, informed Rolling Stone that she started studying English in center faculty in her residence nation of Thailand.) Others maintained that whatever the members’s intentions or stage of consciousness prior to now, they nonetheless wanted to take accountability within the current — particularly since they work with Black artists.
Nonetheless, not everyone wished Jennie, Lisa, and Rosé to apologize. Some folks claimed that the detrimental response on-line was unwarranted. Others did take subject with the usage of the phrase, however asserted that the ladies had been to not blame for what occurred whereas they had been trainees a decade in the past. One Blackpink fanbase with 1.2 million followers on X stated in an April 4 assertion that the leaked movies had been being “intentionally weaponized” in opposition to the members, arguing that the “actual duty” for this “mistake” lies with the Ok-pop business and firms like YG Leisure for “failing to offer correct cultural schooling.”
As of publication, Jennie, Lisa, and Rosé haven’t publicly acknowledged the purportedly leaked movies.
On April 2, Kiss of Life members Julie, Belle, Natty, and Haneul celebrated Julie’s birthday in a since-deleted YouTube livestream with a costume code billed as “old-school hip-hop vibes.” The idea and styling had been closely criticized as appropriative of Black tradition: Haneul had facet cornrows, whereas Natty was sporting gold chains and, at one level, two hats stacked on prime of one another. Some additionally felt that Belle, who rapped a part of Sexyy Crimson’s “Pound City” and was known as “Lil Taco Belle” throughout the dwell, was dressed as a chola and appropriating Chicano tradition. The members’s mannerisms and affected speech all through the livestream — together with Julie’s declaration that “Lil Taco Belle be flirting with my man and that’s not a bestie,” for instance — additionally attracted backlash for enjoying into stereotypes.
As clips unfold on-line, a viral tweet prompt that the members had been partaking in “superior racism” as a result of they’d soul meals on the desk. Through the broadcast, the group had really launched a menu of primarily Thai dishes. However from a distance and with out that context, a good quantity of individuals appeared to mistake mango sticky rice and morning stir-fried glory (or pad pak boong) for cornbread and collard greens, which solely added to the a number of different frustrations with the printed. The general contents of the dwell additionally stung for followers who thought that Kiss of Life ought to have recognized higher, provided that two members are People who had been raised in america. (Belle is from Seattle, whereas Julie — who beforehand apologized in 2023 after a previous video resurfaced of her utilizing the N-word in a track cowl — is from Hawaii.)
Kiss of Life’s firm, S2 Leisure, addressed the backlash by releasing an April 3 apology assertion in English and Korean and taking down the livestream and associated social content material. “We sincerely apologize for inflicting discomfort to our viewers, the true objective of the content material was to have fun hip hop tradition the place a lot of the musical inspiration for Kiss of Life comes from,” the English assertion learn. “We apologize for our shortcomings in recognizing the detrimental cultural implications that our content material could be perceived as.” Immediately translated, the Korean assertion went barely additional in acknowledging that the livestream had adopted “stereotypes” of sure races. Nonetheless, many followers had been hoping for a extra particular apology that got here immediately from the members. Amid the controversy, a number of Kiss of Life fanpages run by Black and Latina followers posted statements on X to precise their disappointment and share their determination to both completely or quickly depart their accounts.
Sure. On April 5, the 4 members shared a handwritten assertion that apologizes “for any ache and misery we’ve brought on our followers” and states that they are going to proceed to “educate” themselves. The group, which kicked off the Asia leg of their Kiss the Highway world tour the day earlier than, famous that they “wished to and may’ve addressed” the state of affairs sooner. “Our intention was to indicate how a lot we cherished the class of old fashioned hip hop as a result of it tremendously influences our music. Whereas capturing the content material we ended up taking the idea too far,” the assertion stated. “We notice now that our content material was culturally insensitive and take full duty for our actions and may solely promise to do higher.”
To all our Kissys, pic.twitter.com/1eIryGZOks
— KISS OF LIFE (@KISSOFLIFE_S2) April 5, 2025
Across the similar time because the purported Blackpink leaks, a previous video resurfaced that allegedly reveals CL, who debuted as a 2NE1 member in 2009, singing the N-word a number of instances in a canopy. Additionally throughout the previous couple of days, the web has reacted to a member of the lady group Younger Posse changing the N-word with “zigga” whereas rapping and a male soloist sporting a durag in idea images. Finally, many on the web have recognized this week as a very tiring one for Black Ok-pop followers.
kpop idols this entire week: pic.twitter.com/uCaD6a5AcH https://t.co/a4ZClTyhAo
— nia (@1jihoes) April 2, 2025
kpop having the niggaboo nationals this week, I see…..
— niggacuckholdry⁷ (@moneybagsigh) April 2, 2025
i really feel so unhealthy for all of the black kpop stans… y’all can not catch a break this week
— َ (@staydrian) April 2, 2025
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