BLACKPINK member LISA has addressed leaked footage of her rapping the n-word from when she was a teenage K-Pop trainee.
In Toronto for the TIFF premiere of her new documentary, Always Lalisa, the 29-year-old singer (real name Lalisa Manobal) was asked about the videos that were leaked just ahead of her anticipated solo performance at Coachella in 2025.
“I really have to apologize,” LISA told Variety. “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. Now I’ve learned and got educated about that, and I would never [do it again]. This is not OK. Seriously.”
Shot more than a decade ago in BLACKPINK’s pre-debut era, the videos show the teenage members as trainees for YG Entertainment rapping to along to lyrics by other artists, including the n-word.
The documentary covers the videos being shared online in real time by someone described as “YG Leaker.” The fallout resulted in a backlash against LISA, right ahead of one of her biggest moments in her solo career.
“Everything is real. It’s all there,” she says about the film. “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.”
Originally from Thailand, LISA moved to Korea and joined YG Entertainment at 14. She spent five years working as a trainee before she debuted with Rosé, Jisoo and JENNIE as Blackpink in 2016.
BLACKPINK’s label, YG Entertainment, reportedly refused to let the members of BLACKPINK release a statement regarding the leaked footage when it was released last year.
Watch an interview with Always Lalisa director Sue Kim below.