Documentary examines Lisa’s response to race controversy over rehearsal videos
A new documentary follows Blackpink’s Lisa as leaked rehearsal videos sparked a race controversy during preparations for her 2025 Coachella performance. The film shows her explaining that she was 15 or 16, had grown up speaking Thai and did not understand the offensive history of a racial slur she repeated; the episode raised questions about accountability, apology and the pressures of public scrutiny.
Filmmaker Sue Kim says Lisa spoke spontaneously for about an hour in her dressing room, while her label’s team prevented the group from issuing a statement at the time. The controversy overshadowed the launch of Lisa’s solo album, and the documentary also depicts her receiving death threats while continuing public appearances. Kim had access to Lisa for a year, but the film was commissioned by the label’s film division, which may shape how its candid moments present the star.
- A documentary captures Lisa responding to a racial slur controversy.
- She says she was a teenager and did not understand the word’s history.
- The film shows the scandal’s impact as she prepared for Coachella.
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Lisa is a member of Blackpink, an internationally successful pop group. In 2024, leaked rehearsal videos surfaced in which she repeated a racial slur, creating a race controversy as she prepared for solo performances at Coachella in 2025.
The incident raised questions about accountability and apology when public figures use language that offends others without initially understanding why. Lisa faced significant backlash and death threats, and the controversy overshadowed the launch of her solo album whilst she continued performing publicly.
A documentary has now captured Lisa explaining what occurred, including that she was around 15 or 16 years old at the time, had grown up speaking Thai, and did not understand the slur's offensive history. The film provides insight into how she navigated the controversy and its aftermath.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Lisa was a child, roughly 15 or 16 years old, who grew up speaking Thai in a cultural context where this particular slur held no historical significance or meaning. Her spontaneous, hour-long explanation to the filmmaker demonstrates genuine candour about her lack of understanding rather than evasion. The death threats and disproportionate public pile-on constitute a form of harm that arguably exceeds a teenager's linguistic error, and holding her accountable forever for words spoken before she could understand their American racial history seems contrary to principles of growth, cultural learning and human forgiveness.
The case against
A racial slur's harm remains regardless of the speaker's intent or age, and accountability cannot rest solely on explanation. The documentary was commissioned by the label that employs Lisa, creating an inherent conflict of interest whereby the film may function as reputation management rather than genuine reckoning with the incident. This raises legitimate questions about whether accountability standards differ based on celebrity status and commercial value—younger employees facing identical behaviour might have been dismissed without the benefit of a sympathetic narrative. The broader concern is whether the entertainment industry holds its influential figures to the same standards it applies to ordinary workers.
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Originally published by BBC World as “Inside the room: What it was like to be with Blackpink’s Lisa as race scandal erupted”.