BLACKPINK’s Lisa sent shockwaves through the internet with her daring Met Gala debut, but not for the reasons she might have hoped. The Thai singer and The White Lotus actress stepped onto the iconic steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in a striking black sparkling bodysuit and tailored blazer by Louis Vuitton. However, it was the potential prominent display of civil rights icon Rosa Parks’ image embroidered onto her visible underwear that triggered a furious backlash online.
The “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” theme of this year’s Met Gala, intended to celebrate Black heritage and fashion, made Lisa’s choice particularly contentious. While the fashion house, in an editorial for British Vogue, lauded the look for encapsulating the singer’s “signature swagger,” many social media users saw it very differently. One furious commenter on Reddit, under the username “concernedcitizen,” questioned, “Who in their right mind thought this was a good idea? Using Rosa Parks as a fashion statement, especially on underwear, is just beyond disrespectful.”
The controversy was further inflamed by the resurfacing of a video from Lisa’s trainee days at YG Entertainment, in which she allegedly used the N-word during rap performances. This prior incident, which has never been publicly addressed by the singer, added fuel to the fire. As another Reddit user, “historybuff_2025,” pointed out, “It’s incredibly jarring to see someone with that kind of past use a figure who fought so hard against racial injustice as a mere fashion accessory. The lack of apology for the slur makes this even worse.”
despite saying the n-word multiple times and never apologizing, lisa doesn’t seem to care as she wears underwear with images of ROSA PARKS, a civil rights icon who fought against racial injustice. pic.twitter.com/78P1LnCros
— rim ✦ (@bratzzzmin) May 5, 2025
The placement of Parks’ image on the crotch area was a particular point of contention for many. One user on the Reddit thread, “stylecritic,” commented, “Putting such an important figure on her underwear, of all places, feels incredibly degrading. It completely misses the point of who Rosa Parks was and what she stood for.” This sentiment was echoed across various platforms, with many deeming the placement “odd” and “disrespectful.”
While some fans attempted to defend the K-pop star’s bold fashion choice, suggesting that featuring powerful women in a “feminine” space could be seen as empowering, this argument largely failed to quell the widespread outrage. Critics argued that Rosa Parks, known for her dignified activism, would likely not have appreciated this form of “tribute.” As one commenter on Reddit, “feministvoice,” suggested, “If the intention was to make a statement about female empowerment, there are countless other figures who would have been more appropriate and less likely to cause this level of offense.”
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The online fury shows no signs of abating, with many calling for an apology from both Lisa and Louis Vuitton. At the time of writing, neither has issued a statement addressing the growing backlash over what many are calling a deeply insensitive and culturally inappropriate fashion choice.
However, according to LV, the artist Henry Taylor hand-embroidered portraits onto her outfit. Taylor, who was previously commissioned by Pharrell Williams—Louis Vuitton’s Men’s Creative Director and 2025 Met Gala co-chair—had created the same design for the brand’s Men’s Spring-Summer 2024 show. During its first showcase, the embroidered motifs adorned suits and accessories.
“The lace replicates elements of an artwork by the American artist Henry Taylor depicting portraits of figures who have been a part of the artist’s life,” Louis Vuitton wrote in a statement about Lisa’s outfit.
