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On March 5, 2024, Lisa of BLACKPINK made a surprise appearance at Louis Vuitton Malletier's presentation at Paris Fashion Week. The Thai rapper and founder of LLOUD artist management company attended the French Maison's in-house creative director Nicolas Ghesquière's Fall/Winter 2024-2025 collection.
The Money rapper-singer posted an Instagram montage later that day that showed fans how she got ready for the behind-the-scenes occasion. The footage shows Lisa eating McDonald's french fries while they were being prepared.
Notably, the video did not feature the fast food chain's logo, yet online users asserted that the red fries cup holder was the well-known one McDonald's has used for a long while now.
Why are netizens furious over BLACKPINK's Lisa for eating McDonald's fries?
McDonald's has over 40,000 locations worldwide, most owned and operated by thousands of independent companies under a franchise system.
The fast food chain faced backlash after its Israel-based franchise revealed that it had provided hundreds of complimentary meals to Israeli military personnel. Those who were incensed by Israel's military action in Gaza called for a boycott of the company.
Due to the burger chain's alleged pro-Israeli stance in the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict, demonstrations and boycott campaigns have been launched against it along with numerous other Western firms. K-pop fans have been actively boycotting the brand alongside Starbucks, Burger King, Pizza Hut, and more.
K-pop fans actively illustrated their pro-Palestine stance by calling our idols and celebrities who are supporting them by endorsing or ordering from McDonald's and other brands that are red-listed. Fans have reacted negatively to four well-known K-pop firms after their connections to Israel were made public.
On January 23, 2024, the hashtag #StrikeAgainstThe4, created to support the Palestinian crisis, went viral on social media. Supporters demanded that the "big four" South Korean K-pop companies renounce their contracts and advertising deals with businesses that overtly and openly support Israel. As a result, fans stopped streaming the music of most K-pop groups between January 23 and 28, 2024.
The four businesses that are the target of the boycott are HYBE Corporation, JYP Entertainment, YG Entertainment, and SM Entertainment. The corporations are well-known for their advertising partnerships with McDonald's and Burger King, both of which have allegedly provided food for Israeli soldiers.
BLACKPINK members earn the ire of netizens for endorsing Starbucks
In July 2023, BLACKPINK approved the "Starbucks X BLACKPINK Merch," which made the ire of netizens. Earlier, BLACKPINK's Jisoo was seen endorsing Starbucks in December 2023, displeasing several fans.
Other K-pop artists like BLACKPINK's Jennie, Jisoo, Aespa members, SHINee's Key, NewJeans, Somi, ENHYPEN's Jake, and more were called out for consuming Starbucks or McDonald's products. However, the artists apologized to their fans for not being aware of the ongoing boycott.
Lisa's recent Instagram reel has further worsened the mattes and hurt sentiments as fans expressed their shock and disappointment on X.
One X user (@yunjinloverz) wrote on X,
"Jennie is drinking starbucks… again. lisa posted a whole video eating mc donalds… will these idols ever learn?"
In other news, BLACKPINK's Lisa has joined the cast lineup for the upcoming HBO original series The White Lotus, reportedly released in 2025. The singer will be seen as a Thai influencer, although further information about Lisa's character arc has been kept under tight wraps.
