Although BLACKPINK might be breaking records with How You Like That, not all fans are happy with the music video as the girl gang landed in controversy after Indian viewers pointed cultural misappropriation in their comeback music video. Indian users in the video pointed out that there was a statue of Lord Ganesha placed in an Arabic market set up. The split-second appearance of the statue came as Lisa sings her lines, sitting on a piece of furniture set in the scene. This use of the idol as a prop hasn’t quite gone well with Indian viewers. Several online users slammed the girl band for it.
A fan on twitter updated “Blackpink placing a Ganesha statue ON THE GROUND next to an Aladdin lamp in a so called ‘Arab market’ scene…when we say y’all see South Asia as some sort of exoticised interchangeable other for aesthetic this is a prime example”. This clearly highlights their act as offensive towards Indian culture and belittles another culture’s God. However few tweets pointed out that its not the fault of Blackpink but YG Entertainment being responsible for the act.
One tweet stated,” YG entertainment has crossed the line this time. Placing lord ganesha as a prop near lisa’s feet is disrespectful to Hinduism. YG really wanna start a controversy after blackpinks’ comeback. YG should apologize big time for this. While YG Entertainment hasn’t addressed the controversy yet, the official fanbase of BLACKPINK fans in India has assured its viewers that they have dropped emails and are trying to reach out to the band for a statement.