PETALING JAYA, Oct 7 — Blackpink’s label YG Entertainment has confirmed that it will be removing scenes of Jennie dressed as a nurse in the Lovesick Girls music video after receiving complaints from a South Korean medical union.
The company issued a statement today after the Korean Health and Medical Workers Union criticised Jennie’s outfit, which consisted of a form-fitting white dress, red high heels, and a cap with a heart symbol, for promoting a “sexual stereotype” of nurses.
“We have decided to edit out all of the scenes with the nurse uniform in Blackpink’s Lovesick Girls music video and we will replace the video as soon as possible.
“While working on the music video for a long time, we did not expect this issue to be raised because (the scenes) had no specific intention to them. We feel greatly responsible for this and will consider it an opportunity to deeply learn.
“We relay our apologies to the nurses who felt discomfort and we once again express our respect to all healthcare workers who are working hard for the sake of the health of the citizens,” said YG Entertainment based on translations by Soompi.
The Korean Health and Medical Workers Union previously called out YG Entertainment for giving a “derogatory portrayal” of nurses in Blackpink’s latest music video, which has garnered over 120 million views on YouTube since its release on October 1.
A translation of the union’s statement from October 5 by Soompi revealed its concerns about “distorted” representations of healthcare workers in the media.
“In a real hospital, not the ones in the media, nurses are fighting at the frontlines of Covid-19 and taking on the risk of infection for the safety and survival of the citizens.
“There has been a climate of heroising nurses as well, but there are still those who call nurses with ‘hey’ or ‘young lady’ and let out their stress on them or exercise their power on them.
“Furthermore, nurses are the healthcare workers who are the most frequently exposed to sexual abuse.
“If the media continues to show a distorted image of nurses, situations like these will only get worse,” said the union.
This isn’t the first time YG Entertainment has had to edit a Blackpink music video post-release following backlash from certain groups.
The label removed scenes from the music video of How You Like That showing rapper Lisa with a statue of the deity Ganesha after fans from Hindu-majority India accused them of using religion as a profitable aesthetic.
