BLACKPINK star Lisa has opened up about the controversy surrounding old pre-debut videos in which the group members were heard using the N-word, revealing how she dealt with the backlash while preparing for her first solo Coachella performance, writes BBC.
In an interview with Variety published on 14 September following the premiere of her documentary ‘Always Lalisa’ at the Toronto International Film Festival, Lisa reflected on the controversy and apologised for her past use of the racial slur.
“I really have to apologise,” Lisa said. “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.”
The videos, which were more than a decade old, showed the future BLACKPINK members, who were likely teenagers at the time, practising their rap skills by covering songs by other artists that contained the slur in their lyrics. The clips resurfaced online as Lisa prepared for her first solo Coachella set in spring 2025.
Lisa said she has since learned about the offensive history of the word and understands why her past use of it was unacceptable.
“Now I’ve learned and got educated about that, and I would never [do it again],” she said. “This is not OK. Seriously.”
Her documentary also shows how she dealt with the controversy as she prepared for the major performance. According to the film, her label prohibited her from publicly addressing the issue at the time.
“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 said.
‘Always Lalisa’ premiered on 11 September at TIFF, offering fans a closer look at Lisa’s life during her period away from BLACKPINK as she focused on solo projects. The documentary also explores the pressures that come with being part of one of the world’s biggest K-pop groups, including the need to keep romantic relationships private to protect the group’s commercial image.
Lisa also made it clear that her solo career does not mean the end of BLACKPINK. Although Lisa, Rosé, Jisoo and Jennie have entered another period of individual projects following the group’s recent tour, she said the quartet will remain together.
“If I’m 50, I still want to do BLACKPINK!” Lisa said. “We just finished the BLACKPINK tour, so now we’re back to our solo eras again.”
‘Always Lalisa’ is scheduled to arrive in cinemas and IMAX on 12 October before its release on YouTube Premium later this year.
