BLACKPINK’s Jennie Gets Blistering Criticism After Historic Performance

She was the headliner.

BLACKPINK member Jennie is at the center of yet another fierce debate after her recent performance at a popular music festival.

Jennie | @jennierubyjane/Instagram

On July 9 (local time), Jennie took the stage at the Mad Cool Festival in Madrid, Spain, as a headliner and delivered a nearly an hour-long, power-packed set comprising tracks from her Ruby era and some unreleased songs. This marked a major milestone for her as she became the first-ever K-Pop idol to headline this prestigious festival.

| @oddatelier/Instagram

Aside from the performance itself, what stirred up social media was her wardrobe. Jennie went massively viral for her outfit choices for this performance, which included a lilac-and-gold ensemble, and a gold corset-like top paired with gold shorts and a chunky belt.

| Nate Pann

| Nate Pann

While most fans were left blown away by Jennie’s visuals at this festival, she also received some scathing comments over the skin exposure. Some even went to the extent of bodyshaming the idol.

| Nate Pann

• “A body like a kid…”
• “Why does she keep dressing like that?”
• “She looks great, but she really needs to dress better. Showing off her waist works well since she has a lovely waistline, but exposing her upper body is a bad move—she’s flat-chested and has a very childlike figure, so the more she reveals up top, the worse she looks; she’s being a bit too ambitious with her styling.”
• “Huh? The outfit is a bit too much…”
• “It’s ugly, though?”
• “It seems like she is taking the lead in showcasing Korea’s tackiness in the West through revealing outfits.”

However, many netizens defended Jennie, calling out the blatant bodyshaming and regressive mindset toward a woman’s choice to wear clothes according to her preference. Many also praised the idol’s agency, ODD ATELIER, for delivering such high-quality stages despite being much smaller in scale compared to other entertainment agencies.

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