On Wednesday, July 12, Munhwa Ilbo, a Korean-based media outlet, put forth that BLACKPINK's Lisa will allegedly be leaving her agency after the expiration of the group's contract in August 2023. This caused quite a stir (as revealed by AllKpop). The news outlet stated that the process of renewing the contract has gone considerably smoother with the other three members, while the group's main rapper and YG Entertainment have been struggling to reach an agreement.
As the issue reached the online space, fans have been quite confused and concerned about the idol's future career and her activities in the company. However, YG Entertainment soon responded to the rumors by saying that the delay in contract renewal is because of Lisa' busy schedule and not due to personal fights or disagreements between them:
"It is because of the tour and personal schedules, and it has nothing to do with the contract status."
"I don't want to get too excited": Fans flood Twitter as rumors regarding BLACKPINK's Lisa's delay in contract renewal land online
Following the news put forth by Munhwa Ilbo which stated that BLACKPINK's Lisa might have been facing difficulties coming to a common agreement with YG Entertainment regarding her exclusive contract, fans shared quite a few thoughts on the same. This was only further fueled when a Chinese agency came forward to express an incident they faced with YG Entertainment regarding the BLACKPINK members.
The anonymous agency stated that they wanted to invite the group members for an appearance on their show, however they couldn't do so since it will be taking place in August 2023 and YG Entertainment allegedly can't fix schedules around that month when their contract agreement with the group's main rapper still stays waveringly.
"We discussed Lisa’s appearance (on the show) while coordinating with YG and the idol's schedule, but it was conveyed (to us) that it is difficult to arrange scheduled activities after August as their contract renewal with Lisa is uncertain."
While this had fans thinking that the idol is unlikely to renew her contract with YG Entertainment, her agency statement stating that it's not about personal reasons or differences confuses fans again. However, despite the statement released by YG Entertainment, fans refused to take it as a fact and they rather think that it's an effort of damage control to calm the heat around the situation.
After the rumors, YG Entertainment has also been facing commercial losses with respect to its stocks. It could be seen that on July 12, 2023, the agency's stocks took a sharp decline and the same could be understood with none other than the instability of Lisa's contract renewal with the company. Additionally, fans also had a few other thoughts to share about the situation.
Firstly, many BLINKs commonly agree that, given the poor management of her solo schedules and the treatment received by her through the company, Lisa should not renew the contract and should join hands with an agency that respects her better. Secondly, they are happy to see that the idol isn't setting down for anything less than what she deserves and has been giving YG Entertainment a hard time agreeing with her demands.
While there's much uncertainty with the idol's future with YG Entertainment and her career in general, fans promise to support the idol regardless of the decision she makes with the renewal of her contract with her agency.