Blackpink's Lisa Apologizes for Resurfaced Racial Slur

Lisa, a 29-year-old member of the K-pop group Blackpink, has issued an apology following the resurfacing of a video in which members of the group used a racial slur. The apology came during an interview with Variety at the premiere of the documentary "Always Lalisa," which chronicles her rise to fame.

The documentary addresses a past controversial video where the members, as teenagers, were heard rapping the N-word. Lisa told Variety, "I really have to apologize. To be honest, I'm Thai and I grew up in Thailand. There isn't any education for that, so at the time, I didn't know." She added, "Now I've learned and got educated about that, and I would never [do it again]. This is not OK. Seriously."

The clip was reportedly leaked before Lisa's 2025 solo performance at Coachella. "Always Lalisa" explores the impact of this incident on the singer leading up to her festival appearance.

"Everything is real. It's all there," Lisa said regarding the documentary. "I was just sad because I really wanted to focus on my performance, but things happened, and you can't control stuff. But I fought through it."

Lisa moved from Thailand to South Korea at age 14 and trained for five years before debuting with Blackpink in 2016. The group has achieved significant commercial success, breaking chart records and embarking on the highest-selling tour ever for a female group. Lisa launched her solo career in 2021 with the singles "Lalisa" and "Money," both of which charted on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2023, "Money" set a Guinness World Record for being the first K-pop track by a solo artist to accumulate one billion streams on Spotify.

Beyond her music career, Lisa made her acting debut in the third season of HBO's "The White Lotus" and is slated to appear in the Netflix film "Tygo," a spin-off of the "Extraction" franchise. She has also been a prominent figure in luxury brand endorsements, notably for LVMH brands Celine and Bulgari.

Earlier in 2026, rumors circulated about a potential split between Lisa and her partner, Frédéric Arnault, heir to LVMH. His absence from her birthday celebration in March and a mention in Vanity Fair's cover story with Lisa suggesting the pair "seem to have now called it quits" fueled these speculations. The publication also noted that interviewers were restricted from asking Lisa about her personal life or relationship.