On February 9, Koreaboo reported that Lisa is facing allegations of blackfishing after comparisons of her skin tone in the newly released Born Again music video and last year’s Rockstar teaser resurfaced. According to news outlet Koreaboo, many netizens believe Lisa intentionally darkened her skin tone for the promotional photoshoot of Rockstar.
Lisa has been accused of blackfishing, which is widely regarded as cultural appropriation. Some social media users have accused her of using dark skin tone, baggy clothes and black people’s accent for rap songs and pale skin tone and cute voice for pop songs.
Fans Defend Lisa
Amid the backlash, fans have stepped in to defend Lisa, arguing that her natural fair skin remained unchanged during the Rockstar promotional shoot. They claim the final images were edited by the photographer to give her a tanned complexion.
Supporters also pointed out that the photographer responsible for the Rockstar teaser has a history of altering the skin tones of various artists in post-production.
Past K-pop Racism Controversies
Lisa is not the first K-pop idol to face allegations of racism and culture appropriations. In 2013, Min from Miss A was criticized for photoshopping rapper Rick Ross into a parody image of fellow idol Sunmi.
Similarly, in 2019, Sorn from CLC received backlash for posting a photo with a friend wearing a blackface mask. Amid the controversy, Sorn publicly apologized.
As discussions around cultural appropriation continue, Lisa’s team has yet to respond to the controversy.
