Welp, guess they [the Chinese] weren’t at all pleased with Lisa’s burlesque moment.
Following her illustrious stunt as a cabaret dancer at the famous Parisian cabaret, Crazy Horse last September 28 to 30, 2023, BLACKPINK’s Lisa’s Weibo page had been completely wiped out from the platform.
Her site was replaced with an error message saying, “The account is now unavailable due to complaints of violation of laws and regulations and relevant provisions of the Weibo Community Convention.”
Lalisa Manobal, the Thai member of one of the biggest names in K-pop, sparked controversy with her risqué performance at the Crazy Horse saloon in Paris, having performed 5 shows at the popular cabaret. While the reactions to Lisa’s performance at the cabaret were received with overwhelming applause and praise internationally, Chinese fans were divided.
Some were all supportive of Lisa, even till the censorship of her Weibo page. However, a somewhat large majority of Chinese fans and netizens in general chastised Lisa for undertaking such an endeavor, calling her performance out for her inappropriate and revealing outfits.
After her account had been wiped off on November 1, 2023, Lisa’s Chinese fans speculated that the artist’s web page had been wiped due to the Chinese government’s crackdown on the entertainment industry and the ruling Communist Party’s socially conservative values.
At the same time, Chinese actresses such as Angelababy and Zhang Jiani, who were thought to have attended Lisa’s shows at the Crazy Horse had also been restricted from their accounts on Weibo and Douyin. One of Lisa’s biggest fan accounts on Weibo had also been shut down.
On the same day, Chinese media outlets also reported that luxury brands CELINE and BVLGARI had removed Lisa’s photos from their Weibo pages, sparking rumors of the brands allegedly distancing themselves from the BLACKPINK member after recent backlash.
Celine and Bvlgari remove all pictures of Lisa on their Chinese Weibo https://t.co/vrKSrWlPPn pic.twitter.com/zDz51pIVam
— pannchoa (@pannchoa) November 2, 2023
This wasn’t the case, however, with the CEO of CELINE and BVLGARI, JC Babin, posting pictures of the Thai K-Pop megastar on his Instagram account. The CEO had also created an Instagram highlight on his account for Lisa.
Today, Jc Babin Bulgari's CEO Instagram story was filled with Lisa. pic.twitter.com/qLicTiF2zn
— ᴛᴀᴛᴀ🐣ʟʟᴏᴜᴅ💋 (@LiLi327TWEET) November 3, 2023
Jc Babin Bulgari's CEO added Lalalisa story highlights back today. pic.twitter.com/09w3inU5VP
— ᴛᴀᴛᴀ🐣ʟʟᴏᴜᴅ💋 (@LiLi327TWEET) November 3, 2023
As of writing, YG Entertainment nor Lisa has commented on the issues.
Our stand on this? Cultures can truly be different in different parts of the world. While there is overwhelming support and openness in these kinds of art, there will always be a group that will find a way to vilify and call it “an attack to their values.”
Seeing how the concept of a cabaret is entirely Western (literally born in Europe), it is acceptable that other cultures, especially in the Eastern part of the world, aren’t as entirely welcoming—take a look at how differing the reception of Lisa’s performance at the Crazy Horse saloon was taken in Western media and in Eastern media. There’s a stark difference, and this whole thing isn’t even the end of it.
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