Lisa of Blackpink’s dance video “Money” sparks controversy
A day of victory for Lisa of popular K-pop girl group Blackpink turned sour when she was accused of “cultural appropriation” by using an African braid for her hairstyle in her video “Money” released on YouTube on October 10.
The icon sparked a controversy upon the release of the exclusive dance performance video “Money” that is on the B-Side of her solo album Lalisa.
Lisa had to come out in public to apologize because of her look in some of the clips in the video showing her wearing a dreadlock hairstyle. She was allegedly guilty of “cultural appropriation” for using the hairstyle.
“I didn’t have bad intentions. I thought the hairstyle is very cool,” Lisa explained to her fans.
Bombarded by flak, some fans said she needs to take down the video as it is inappropriate.
Lisa made a fan call and even had a conversation with a fan who expressed her concerns and let her know that she offended some fans with the dreadlock hairstyle.
“I’m really sorry for, like, you know, anyone who got hurt,” the Korean pop icon said as she listened attentively and even asked her staff to extend the fan call by almost seven minutes so she can clarify the situation and discuss the issue.
Accepting that she made a mistake, Lisa reiterated that she was sorry as she did not mean any harm and said she will be careful next time.
Meanwhile, some of her fans claimed that some fans are just oversensitive and that the situation had gone too far. Some even said that all the drama was unnecessary and absurd.
“I don’t think she owes anyone an explanation. These critics are too shallow. The fan who talked about the braiding issue is one of them, I suppose. Lisa had been so kind. But obviously, she did not mean any harm and it’s actually the stylist who made her wear that braid. Lisa doesn’t owe that fan an apology,” one fan added.
“Seriously the ‘braid’ doesn’t belong to any culture. There are videos on YouTube teaching you how to braid. People are so sensitive these days. Let her live her life and express herself,” a commenter stressed.
“Lalisa” is Lisa’s first solo album. The album was an overnight success despite the meager promotion that limited it only to South Korea. The same, however, does not apply to Lisa’s B-side track “Money” from the album.
Last October 10, YG Entertainment released the performance video for Lisa’s B-side track “Money”.
The video was doing extremely well on Blackpink’s YouTube channel with over 6 million views in less than 17 hours since its release. And in the past 24 hours, became number one on the list of most viewed videos.
Fans talked about how amazing Lisa was in the video when she performed the song with so much energy and confidence, drawing favorable responses from music fans around the globe amid the controversy.
The video holds the record for fastest dance video to reach 100 million views on YouTube, surpassing Blackpink’s “How You Like That”.
Lisa, Lalisa Manobal in real life, 24, is a rapper, singer and dancer based in South Korea. She is a member of the South Korean girl group Blackpink under YG Entertainment.
Lisa made her debut as a solo artist with the title track and lead single “Lalisa” from the album of the same title in September 2021. The premiere for the music video of the track Lalisa recorded 73.6 million views on YouTube in the first 24 hours of its release, becoming the most viewed music video in the first 24 hours on the internet platform by a solo artist.
*Photos from Lisa’s video/IG
