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On April 6, 2025, BLACKPINK’s Lisa was in the news after The Hollywood Reporter published an interview with Gabe Hilfer. He is the music supervisor of The White Lotus. In the reports, he explained why the rapper's songs were not used in Season 3 of the HBO series.
Lisa played a key role as Mook. However, Hilfer shared that using her music while she appeared onscreen would have felt too self-aware and distracting for viewers. He said,
"I’ve worked on a lot of things that have musicians as actors, and I kind of feel like you’re crossing a boundary because they’re no longer their fictional character. It’s just a little meta if you’re hearing their music while you’re seeing them on screen, but they’re not playing themself.”
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He said that when a musician is acting and their music plays during their scenes, it can feel jarring or overly self-referential.
“If she was playing Lisa on vacation at the White Lotus, maybe it would’ve been kind of a fun little wink, but as she is Mook in this and has a different role, I think it would’ve been a little too self-aware or meta. Obviously, she’s such a megastar, and Blackpink is its own phenomenon.”
Hilfer emphasized that her role was separate from her music identity and blending the two would have felt too “meta.”
BLACKPINK's Lisa's casting in The White Lotus 3 and her growing solo career
Lisa debuted as a member of BLACKPINK in 2016. She played Mook in the third season of The White Lotus. Her casting came after she auditioned in Thailand and impressed creator Mike White with a follow-up tape. In another interview by The Hollywood Reporter, Mike White admitted he was unaware of the idol's fame and had reservations.
However, after seeing her audition and learning about her impact in Thailand, he changed his mind. Her castmates were surprised to learn just how famous she was globally once filming began. Mike said,
"I did not know who Lisa or Blackpink was. All I knew was that there was a Blackpink girl [her bandmate, Jennie] in The Idol and I was like, ‘We’re not doing that.’ Then I found out that there might be security issues and I was just like, ‘No,’”
He then praised the BLACKPINK member for her skills and popularity and said,
"Her audition was amazing. And Lisa’s so nice and uncomplicated, but I still didn’t want to cast her. I’m just used to not having so much attention; we don’t need it. But I wanted to be respectful to Thailand. She’s like Taylor Swift meets Princess Diana there."
After departing YG Entertainment in 2024, Lisa launched her label, Lloud. She also signed a distribution deal with RCA Records. Her debut studio album, Alter Ego, was released in February 2025. The album followed several singles like Rockstar and Born Again.
She also made history as the first K-pop soloist to perform at the MTV VMAs and the Oscars.
In addition to her music, the idol launched a comic book and completed a successful fan meeting tour across Asia.
