Video Of A Man Being Racist Toward BLACKPINK’s Rosé In NYC Goes Viral As Fans Express Outrage
BLINKs are living right now as BLACKPINK have taken over the United States! Members Jennie and Lisa have been busy in LA…
Meanwhile, Rosé recently arrived in New York City.
She already stole the show at the NBA‘s Milwaukee Bucks vs. New York Knicks game at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday, November 10. Of course, she was courtside too, exactly where stars are meant to be!
ROSÉ pic.twitter.com/fwN71CfCN0
— ؘ (@rosefeeds) November 11, 2021
BLINKs are always proud to see BLACKPINK receive even more attention and recognition internationally, further proving the group’s diversity and worldwide star power. So, many were disappointed when it appeared that Rosé was verbally attacked as she left the game on Wednesday night.
Of course, any NBA game is to be crowded with people both inside and outside the arena. So, it was no surprise that there was a crowd outside that evening. But, with Rosé known to be there, it’s only expected that there would be even more so a crowd that night as many hoped to catch a glimpse of her.
211111 ROSÉ leaving the Knicks game yesterday
©️ 梦见你的月亮so#ROSÉ #로제 @BLACKPINK pic.twitter.com/nssALfENPU
— 로제 아카이브 🖤 (@archive0211) November 12, 2021
Still, some people present were unfamiliar with BLACKPINK and were curious why people were excited to see Rosé. A BLINK shared a video from that night from when Rosé was leaving Madison Square Garden. In the beginning, fans can be heard talking amongst themselves after spotting the singer, “She’s there! Oh, s*it! She is!”
When Rosé walks out, a man’s voice can then be heard, asking, “Who is that? Who is that?” That would have been excusable, but then he says, “Ling Ling?”
@ctrlchaennie I’m aBout to beat a bitch up because wtf
While Ling Ling is the former name of Yongzhou, a city in the Hunan province of China, and even a fictional character’s name, this is often used as a racial slur by ignorant people who stereotype Asians. It comes from non-Asians imitating sounds that sound like Chinese language. So, naturally, fans were concerned after hearing this directed towards Rosé.
The TikTok posted by @ctrlchaennie has 304.2K views as of November 12 and over 1,000 comments, many being BLINKs and even non BLACKPINK fans, who are expressing their disturbance over the incident. Several are hoping Rosé didn’t hear it amongst the noise of the crowd. However, many say that this is why they don’t like the members to travel overseas, as racism against Asians is still an issue, particularly in the United States.
Since COVID-19 especially, there has been a rise in anti-Asian rhetoric and hate crimes in America. Many Asian American idols have been troubled about it as they have family there or even live there themselves, such as Eric Nam and GOT7‘s Mark Tuan. Not only that, but the lack of acceptance for Asians in the Western entertainment industry is a primary reason why Eric decided to travel to South Korea to begin a career in music.
While there’s been an increase of concern among BLINKs since that one viral video, there are some who are trying to give the man the benefit of the doubt. One user suggested that he misheard “BLACKPINK” as “bling-bling.”
Whether that be the case or not, fans do have justification in their anxieties due to the current environment in the United States.