K-Pop’s Met Gala Night: Glamour, Racism & Embarrassment

Added: 2026-05-11

[00:00:00]Well, the 2026 Met Gala happened. That happened. And there has been a bit of controversy and discussion about the K-pop singers that were there. [music] So, we are going to talk about who was there, what they wore, what is the controversy, and why K-pop fans are upset yet again.

[00:00:25]Hey everybody. It is I. It is me.

[00:00:30]>> [laughter] >> Oh my goodness. Hey everybody. What is up? Another video.

[00:00:36]I would like to thank all of my new subscribers. My name is Kiki. Me llamo Kiki. Hola. Hola, como estas usted? I just say, you know.

[00:00:45]Um namaste. Konnichiwa.

[00:00:49]Annyeong. Annyeonghaseyo.

[00:00:51]So, I like to thank everybody who's here.

[00:00:54]Goodn [sighs] talkn all that mess. My name is uh Kiki. My channel's Nomadic Kitty where I talk about K-pop and the K-pop industry. Normally, I'm in my studio or in front of my cur- shower curtain. This is a Kiki after dark video. Now, not that kind of after dark video. Now, look y'all nasty. Y'all nasty. Stop it. But no, I didn't I didn't took a shower. I didn't get my face all scrubbed. My face is going through some horrific things right now.

[00:01:20]Like not horrific. It's I'm overly dramatic. But like I have these little things on there, butterflies, but that's because I have a breakout. Yes, I still have breakouts in my old my old old age.

[00:01:32]I still have breakouts. I have to I have a whole skin care routine. And if you join me on my live streams, a lot of times you guys see me doing my whole skin care routine when I don't have enough time. So, anyway. But anyway, that's neither here nor there. This video was going to be talking about the Met Gala. The Met Gala was this week. I watched the entire 2 hours and 45 minutes online. Let me No, okay.

[00:01:56]I didn't watch all of it. but they have recordings online. People you can watch it live, watch a recording. It's like 2 hours and 45 minutes.

[00:02:02]And for those of you who don't know, the Met Gala is held every year. I don't know how long it's been around, but it's it's quote-unquote a charity charity event.

[00:02:13]>> [laughter] >> It benefits the Met the Met Metropolitan Museum of Art arts and sciences in New York, and it's a big celebrity thing, and you have to pay like a hundred thousand dollars a plate, a hundred thousand dollars per person just to get in it. Now, I supposedly it's a charity, and it it's money's used to run the Met, and apparently they give money to fund other, you know, arts and everything. And this year supposedly they made more money due to the inclusion of Jeff Bezos and his wife Lauren Sanchez. Now, that has caused some controversy in the Met. This is the first I haven't been watching the Met for very long. Only time I started watching it is because I knew K-pop idols were going to be there. So, since 2022 I've been looking at the Met. And so, it's a controversy this year because the Bezos are involved, and so some stars, some key celebrities did not show up. They pulled out at the last minute.

[00:03:10]They did not show up because they they, you know, they people are having all kinds of issues with the Bezos, and I won't get in into the whole political thing um about that cuz we can I can do a whole video about the political thing cuz y'all know if you don't know, K-pop is just one of many one of a few hobbies that I have, and politics is number one.

[00:03:30]I'm more involved in politics than I am in K-pop even though I like K-pop. I am BTS Army for those of you who don't know. And but we're going to talk about the Met in in the vein of K-pop cuz that's what my channel talks about. So, we're going to talk about Blackpink and the two young ladies from Espa that were there. We're going to talk about a topic that I've been wanting to talk about for a long time. Now, there's always been a bit of kerfuffle.

[00:03:57]Last year when Stray Kids was at the Met, okay? I remember when that happened, I read all about it. I think I even talked about it in the live stream.

[00:04:04]But, we are going to talk more about the Met and Korea and Korean artists and not just the Met, but also the media, the Western media and and Korean artists or K-pop singers when it comes to the Western media in this type of environment because the media at the Met is not like music media, you know what I'm saying? So, I have a degree in journalism. That is that is what I went to school for even though I'm not a journalist, but I and so, but I understand about the press and and and the different things that a lot of people have type and talking about the Met and and K-pop content creators, some of them. But, I don't think that they can offer the insights and the things that I'm going to share with you guys on this video. So, make sure you stick around all the way to the end. Make sure you like, share, subscribe the video.

[00:04:59]Put it in the comments, what did you think? Did you watch the Met? Do you know? And I understand that this video is going to draw in some people who are who normally are not at my channel. I don't know normally talk about girl groups. I only I usually talk about boy groups mostly and mostly things that are happening in the news, but this has definitely been happening in the news. I am a casual Blink. I am not a fan of Aespa. I don't think any way either here, there, or everywhere about Aespa.

[00:05:24]So, the things that I'm going to say in this video, I know some of you guys are going to get touchy and offended and I'm just going to tell you I don't care. So, I call it right down the middle and it's nothing personal against these young ladies, but I'm just going to call call it right down the middle. So, let us let us let us let us begin. Look in the comments sections, I have links to my Patreon, a links to my Wattpad, a links to my, um, my shop, um, and let us begin. So, first of all, part one.

[00:05:54]Let me go on the record and saying, let's talk a little bit about the the the Met itself, okay? And not just the people that were there. So, again, I said there was some controversy because the Bezos, they got involved. I think they donated like $10 million to be on the board, and they were there.

[00:06:10]Then Jeff Bezos kind of dipped out because he didn't want to be on camera.

[00:06:13]His wife stood up there, and apparently, from what I heard and what I saw, the people didn't really want to want to be seen really talking to her because politically people are upset with the Bezos for many for a myriad of of of issues. Besides them aligning with Trump, besides them just being, you know, just just, um, their Amazon workers and and and the the treatment of Amazon workers over the years. There's been strikes and stuff like that. And besides the other part of them just looking like lizard skin supervillains. Like, I'm just going to be honest with you. They, if you would pick out a cartoonish supervillain couple, it would probably be them two. They they That's That's what they look like. No shade. No shade, the Jeff Bezos. You know, like, I ain't out here boycotting Amazon like the rest of y'all, okay? So, I like my Amazon, okay? I admit it. I I don't I don't agree with where the workers are treated, and they should be paid more and treated better. So, the workers actually themselves had these digital billboards put up in New York, and also put up like, you know, it would be on like the side of a building. They put it up like he has like a $10 million penthouse or supervillain lair, whatever you whatever you want to call it, in New York, as high-rise or whatever that him and his wife live in. They were putting like digital things, and it's just Amazon workers talking about shame on the Met and shame. And And he's normally not involved. So, this is the first year that him and his wife just kind of invited like like paid their way to get there. That's how a lot of people feel.

[00:07:47]But that's neither here nor there.

[00:07:48]They're getting $100,000. Let me explain $100,000. A lot of the the the artists and stars and people who are there have branding deals. Sometimes multiple branding deals. So when they talk talk about $100,000 a person, nine times out of 10, um these celebrities are being dressed.

[00:08:06]They have brand Like I said, Prada or or or Givenchy. They have gowns that they are dressed in or outfits that they are dressed in. It is a good way for these high-end fashion houses to advertise themselves, and then the artist is just a part. So a lot of times, the the artist and their representation or their agency will pay half, and then the the fashion house or or advertiser will pay half, and then also pay the cost of their dress or their outfit. Or some Or if you're really premier a person, I don't know I I don't know about these K-pop singers, then the fashion house will pay all of it. Like so so sometimes they pay a the fashion house will pay a percentage, sometimes they'll pay all of it, sometimes they'll pay like a a a certain price, like a certain amount. So it all just depends on what deal that they have with the particular agency or with the particular artist, okay?

[00:09:00]So that's just giving you some kind of context of what's happening and what's going on. Some Some Like I said, some people boycotted, and then some people been voicing their displeasure on social media, apparently. I saw a YouTube video about it cuz I'm not on social media, but a lot of other stars who did drop out, who didn't go, were amazed at the people that did go, that didn't drop out. But a lot of times these people have branding deals that they can't just drop out, that they that they're contractually obligated to be there at the Met, okay? So I'm not really getting too mad at people because I don't know what their contract and their money situation is. And some of them, like I said, when you have a branding deal, you're contractually obligated to go to certain events or a certain amount of events in that season or in that the length of the contract. So, some of these these these K-pop singers and other people, they couldn't just back out at the last moment. Okay. So, that's one thing I have to say. About the press. The press there are are the same press that are also there for like runway events and a lot of fashion events. There are a lot of quote-unquote fashion press there. So, not only is the entertainment press there, but the fashion press there. Now, the fashion press has a reputation of being a bunch of stuck-up stuck-up jerks. I mean, let's just call it. So, so yes, honey, the fashion press do not play. Like the entertainment paparazzi and press, and I say press loosely because some of these people are there with like Vogue magazine and Cosmopolitan and stuff like that. But, some of the press there are there to get pictures and actually sell them. I've talked about this before that there is a whole market. I mean, it's not anything new, but now with the advent of social media, like a lot of people in K-pop, K-pop fans don't really understand that there are people out there taking pictures because they take pictures for for outlets, and they sell the pictures.

[00:10:49]They sell the pictures and sell the video to news outlet cuz the news outlets can't afford to have correspondents. Back in the day, in the heyday of news, when I back in the day when I was getting a journalism degree, there were so many opportunities in press and media for correspondents, for editors, for writers, and everything.

[00:11:07]All of that has been reduced. Y'all have seen, well, I don't know if you guys have seen, but but in America, our media has pretty much been gutted, okay? Due to a various factors. You have people buying up news outlets, you have people buying up news outlets and then gutting the staff. It happened at the Washington Post. It's been happening all over the place. Even happening for online publications. So, a lot of times, back in the day when you had all these newspapers and and and and whether they be physical newspapers or online publications, they had this huge amount of staff. Well, all these companies now been cutting back, cutting back, cutting back because the only way newspapers and stuff get paid is through advertising dollars. So what these newspapers do and these publications do is they hire freelance photographers, freelance editors, and stuff like that. These freelance photographers are basically just a roundabout way of saying what we would call a paparazzi. So So and these people work for a myriad of publications. Sometimes they work by contract, sometimes they work they get paid per picture or paid per event, and they're there to take pictures. They're there to get the best shots, the best videos, and then give it over to whatever publication they're working with or working for or whoever they're selling to, and so they in turn get the clicks and the views and stuff like that. And sometimes the the photographers will get, you know, get their name on it, get a certain amount of revenue, and then you build your your your name and reputation through the industry that way.

[00:12:33]So some of them are not very nice people. And some of them will yell out things and scream out things to to to stars and to people.

[00:12:41]And you just have to learn to just take it in stride and just ignore it. You just have to learn to ignore it and move on. So with that said, that's going to come into to place later. So I'm just giving you guys just a little background about what actually goes on in these in these in these photographers cuz I think K-pop fans are giving these people a lot more credence of I'm not saying these people are unprofessional, they are, but it it's their they're there to capture pictures and videos, and it doesn't mean that they know everybody that's there on the guest list. Like they've researched the they they they are given a list a lot of times. A lot of times they don't even read it. They just go on by who they can see or who the other ones are telling the other ones who this is. Well, who's this?

[00:13:23]Well, this is such and such.

[00:13:24]You know, so it's not like these these these these photographers know everybody that walks the runway. Again, that's going to come into play.

[00:13:35]So, let's start with the the the first ones, the Aespa ladies. So, Karina and Ningning of Aespa. Again, I ain't familiar with the Aespa's and then Aespa ladies, but Ningning Ningning and Karina showed up. Now, Ningning wore a beautiful black dress and I'm going to show you a picture of it. And then Karina wore this dress that was supposed to be inspired by Hanbok, but to me it looked like she was wearing a prom outfit. But, let me show you what the outfits look like.

[00:14:13]So, you can see their their outfits there. And let me tell you about the theme. The theme is um I think the theme was like art into fashion or or art or fashion that reflects art or something like that.

[00:14:24]Very vague. It could be interpreted many different ways. So, some of the people they were saying that they didn't understand the assignment, they didn't go all all out enough, but I'm like it it's it's it's very vague. You know what I'm saying? I'm like, "Well, it could be interpreted in many different ways."

[00:14:41]So, apparently Karina, she was she's the one that's wearing the white sleeveless dress on the knees in this black thing. She was supposed to be representing like her culture and Hanbok. I didn't think the dress look anything like Hanbok. Hanbok is usually colorful. It's usually a jacket over it.

[00:15:00]To me, it looked like she was wearing a prom gown. Like I said, no shade to her.

[00:15:03]She looked absolutely gorgeous. All of these ladies I'm talking about, let me say all of them look gorgeous. No shade to none of these ladies. No shade at all. I have no shade. I am not going to sit up here and judge any woman. I am not a fashionista. I am not I didn't go to design school. I'm just telling you, her dress did not look like her again.

[00:15:23]And I'm not blaming her because not cuz all of these ladies, Karina and Ningning, have branding deals with fashion houses. And I forgot which ones.

[00:15:32]I should have looked them up, but I don't care enough to be looking at But they all had fashion deals. So the the it they have teams of people dressing them. The the fashion house, whatever they represent and are brand brand ambassadors for, will dress them in whatever they feel reflects um their brand. I I said how much input they have into it, I don't know. I don't know if they give them a selection of outfits and have them pick one, or they just tell them, "Look, show up, show here. We're going to dress you. We're going to put in makeup." Cuz it could go either way. It could be a little bit It could be both ways, or could be something in the middle. So I'm not saying that they picked out these outfits or they deserve to be dragged for this outfit. But yeah, some people have criticized her outfit. And Ningning, people liked her outfit. It's just big billowy thing. Again, I I don't know what kind of artwork she was representing. I don't know. But she But like I said, both of these young ladies was beautiful. But that wasn't what people was talking about, child. What people was talking about, honey, is that when Karina showed up, honey, the the the the press was calling her Jisoo.

[00:16:35]>> [laughter and gasps] >> That I And you can see the video out there. This video and they're like, "Jisoo! Jisoo!" Cuz cuz some One of the peop- the press you can hear them saying, "Who's that?" And somebody said, "Jisoo." Then they said, "Jisoo! Jisoo!"

[00:16:47]And I promise you some of them didn't even know who Jisoo was. But they all They may have said, "Blackpink Jisoo." I So they called her Jisoo. And And And the Aespa fans were gagging, honey. They were so mad cuz they And then like when they showed up when her and Ningning both walked on the red carpet, like the people were barely like it was dead quiet. Like it I saw the video and like people were They were barely even taking pictures until somebody said, "Oh, that's Jisoo." Now Karina does kind of favor Jisoo, but not really. But But you know, but they weren't really taking a lot of pictures and and and and the girls just kind of stood up there and they did the best that they can to pose and smile and and they did the best that they could. Now, here we get into a little a little bit of controversy and a little bit of things that I have to say, commentary.

[00:17:36]Some of fans were saying that it's racism. The reason why some people are saying this cuz people are saying that every time Korean stars show up at the Met, it seems that the press don't are rude to them, okay? Last year Stray Kids went and I remember that, I talked about it. Stray Kids went and they and the paparazzi was kind of like making fun of them, was kind and and I promise you the first of all with that situation, they were saying that they were stiff and wooden. In the paparazzi's defense, they were yelling things at them and Stray Kids, they just kind of looked and some of them speak English. So, again, the paparazzi was yelling at things at them to get them to try to interact and try to smile and try to interact with them in some sort of way so they could get good shots. The the press do not like you to stand up there and stiff cuz literally Stray Kids just stood up there and they was like, And then and then so the press was sitting up like, "Oh my god, they're so stiff and they're so wooden." They're like, "Oh my goodness." They were trying to get them to smile. And then and then I think the other thing about it is is that the press probably didn't know that some of them spoke English. So, they were just yelling out rude [ __ ] y'all.

[00:18:53]Because I promise you, the paparazzi probably they didn't know who Stray Kids were, they didn't care and they were yelling things at them in order to get a reaction and they probably thought, "Oh, well, they don't even understand what we're saying anyway." But they were very stiff and wooden and they were they're very stiff. They didn't get up there and smile. I don't know who told them to do that, I don't know whether they were starstruck or they were nervous. I don't know, okay?

[00:19:15]I don't know if they didn't have no good media training. I don't know what they But they should have told them to go to This is the This is not the event like an event in Asia where you stand up there and you just pose and you be all serious. That's not this event. The Met they expect people to yes to get up there and pose, but then when the camera people are talking to you, they expect you to kind of smile or wave or say hi or do a come together and do a group photo. Like And again, I'm not trying to throw shade at Stray Kids and try to compare them. But BTS have been good at this. BTS had a pretty good media training. I have to say you you guys can complain about BTS all you want to. But when they're on the red carpet, they're on. BTS even RM will get up there and talk and the other ones will stand in the background, smile, and wave even though they don't know what's saying because they understand that like you have the camera on you, you're in front of everybody, it's time to really give them a smile. You got to give them the old razzle-dazzle. So they understand they have to smile. And they understand they have to wave. Even though they don't know what's being said, just smile and wave. You know, just give the crowd something. Just smile, wave, and emote, "Hey, hi, we're so glad to be here. Oh my god, yes, the Met Gala, we're live, you know." They understand and RM understands. You have to give give them something a little bit of the hocus pocus to to make them not you seem so stiff. So with Stray Kids fans were upset about that last year. So now this year people calling it racism.

[00:20:41]Now I understand xenophobia and Asia phobia and I understand racism very very well, okay? I understand that in America people think a lot of Americans, regardless of whether they're photography or regular people, that all Asians look alike. So I understand why people were saying it was racism or or I But I wouldn't really call it racism. I would kind of be like xenophobia that too because it And then on top of the other thing is that I tell people don't mistake indifference for racism. You know what I'm saying? Like the press for the most part, they are there to try to sell clicks and views or sell photographs. If these two young ladies show up looking beautiful, they're going to they're going to be kind of like, "Okay, who's that?

[00:21:24]Who are these again? Is this Blackpink?"

[00:21:26]Because really to be honest with you, I mean let's just keep it real. aespa is not that very well known internationally and Blackpink is. So, especially Rosé.

[00:21:35]When Rosé came out with that after after song, I would say Rosé is probably the most popular one or the most recognized one of Blackpink because of the whole Bruno Mars and getting nominated for a Grammy and all of that. So, she would be the most recognized. So, to act like the press are going to know who Karina Karina and Ningning is, to me what I giggled because it's absurd. They don't care. They're not big stars. They are there to get big stars on camera. They are looking for a Beyoncé and you know, Lady Gaga wasn't there. But they're there, do you understand, to look for big stars. The bigger the star, the more money they're going to get for the picture and the video and everything like that. So, Ningning and Karina, they're like, "Okay, we'll take a picture." But they're probably thinking, "Okay, well how much money am I really going to get for the Okay." Like and then they were probably looking at their outfits going, "Are they going to be on the best dressed list or the worst dressed list?" Because photographers think about that, too. Photographers will purposely take pictures of people that outfits that they feel is ugly because they understand that this picture may go viral as the worst dressed. And then sometimes they'll take pictures of outfits or the strangest because they understand that that may go viral as well or outfits that they think are just the best outfits. So, yes, Karina and Ningning look good, but they I don't I can't see them on the best dressed or the worst dressed. Their outfits was just good. It just It was nice. It was It was just great. It was nice, serviceable. So, again, they weren't they weren't going to get any juice or any pop from them, and they did smile and everything like that, but for the paparazzi, I don't think it's racism.

[00:23:10]It's hard for people to tell Asian people apart of it was hard for me to tell when I first was in K-pop. Now, I recognize faces and I can tell, you know, Asian people apart. It's not anything racist, it's just that a lot of times Asian people are not on our TV screens a lot, they're not in our media a lot, and so in the paparazzi's defense, they they really just didn't know them. So, don't mistake indifference for prejudice or racism. It may be xenophobia, but I don't know if I could honestly say racism. The same thing with Stray Kids, I don't think it was racism there. I think people were just like, "Is this BTS?" Like that I don't I think people and and and and people just didn't understand who they were and why how important this person were, regardless of whether they're in K-pop or brand ambassadors or not.

[00:23:58]And so, at the end of the day, I would just have to tell K-pop fans and those who are Aespa fans and and just fans of K-pop when they go to the the Met, like K-pop fans, y'all are so overly sensitive and and and touchy. And again, I Was was this the only time that the press called somebody the wrong name?

[00:24:18]Doubtful. Is this any Is this the first time or the only person with the Stray Kids situation that they're rude to people? No, I can tell you for a fact that the press is rude. I can tell you for a fact. Like, it they have said some rude [ __ ] to people. And I'm not saying necessarily racism or anything, but just rude. You know, they would say things "Are you going to smile? Are you going to look at me? You know, what are you wearing?" All right, "Oh my god, can't you pose right?" Like press have That's kind of like what the paparazzi do. We A lot of us remember the years when they when the paparazzi used to hound Britney Spears and other stars, and they would just say rude things to them to get a rise out of them. They would wait for Britney Spears to leave the club and be like, "Britney, are you drunk?" Britney, you know, like they would say stuff like that. Like just rude rude [ __ ] to to Britney all the time. And Lindsay Lohan, they would say rude things to Lindsay Lohan. I remember one paparazzi was like, "Hey Lindsay, have you taken your medication today?" Like they would say stuff like that to get a rise out of you. So, I got to need K-pop fans to understand that y'all have this victim mentality again. Like it's just us that they talking bad to. I'm like, "But we ain't seen the video of other people that have showed up as well." Where people be like, "Well, yeah, they are kind of aggressive and rude." So, they're not It's not just the Koreans that they are rude to, y'all. Like the If you are a smaller time actor, actress, star, they will kind of be like kind of charge you and kind of, you know, say kind of say rude things to you. That's just what the paparazzi are known for in America. I don't know how they do it in other countries, but the paparazzi been known as rude. Like some of y'all are like, "Yeah." Like I remember the days when the paparazzi were even going back to Madonna. They used to say all kinds of rude [ __ ] to Madonna all the time. Even when Madonna had her kids with her, they would say rude things to her and they would try to goad her and, you know, and they wouldn't get out the way and and, you know, like the paparazzi is rude, y'all.

[00:26:18]So, it's not just Koreans. And I And I don't think they were saying the Jisoo thing out of being rude or disrespectful. I really do think that somebody said, "Oh, that's Jisoo." And they were like, "Jisoo?" And so, yeah.

[00:26:28]But so, I also need K-pop the fans to understand that like just because in Korea they're really well-known and they're your favorites and they're your favorite group, it doesn't translate over translate over here to America. I try to explain to y'all all the time that K-pop is a very niche thing.

[00:26:47]Be Beyond Blackpink and BTS, most of the population of the States don't know who ATs, Stray Kids, Espa, I know they don't know these group even though they sell out arenas and they have a big fan K-pop fan base here. The paparazzi in the main public don't really know who these people are.

[00:27:08]Like like and so and and then I heard people making arguments well well they're professional that let the paparazzi the press is professional?

[00:27:16]I'm like y'all giving these photographers way too much.

[00:27:19]I'm going to say some of these people I wouldn't even call press. Like calling them press is too much. These are literally these people literally are photographers. Some of like I said some of them are what I would we would consider paparazzi. So these are not like professional editors or or photographers for magazines and and and TV shows and movie it's not that. These are photographers for for the media for the media for the press.

[00:27:46]And freelance photographers and stuff like that. And so again, a lot of these these people that are there photographers are there they do the Met every year. They come there every year they see different people there every year. So again, they are there to get the photograph that's going to get as most clicks and views and get them the most money. So again, it's not like the way y'all want people to kiss these K-pop K-pop stars asses. Like you want them to treat them with reverence like they don't know who she is. I'm like why would they know Why would they know how would they know who Espa ain't that popular here? So I'm just telling people you know, I ain't trying to throw no shade but I'm like let's let's get real. The when it comes to Korean girl girl groups, Blackpink is the one only one that they really would would know if if if even that.

[00:28:32]They have heard of the name but them be able to identify them not unless somebody would say something. So let's just let's just be be for real here. So again, y'all want y'all K-pop fans act like y'all want the press and the western media to to kiss these K-pop singers' butts. And it doesn't happen here. They will get humbled real real quick up in America. You will be humbled here. I think I think a K-pop singer said, "Yeah, that they used to be in the top dog or press and, you know, acting a certain way." They're not that rude in in South Korea. At least not to their faces. They may write rude stuff in their articles. But when But the press, they may be aggressive, but they're not chiding the artist. They're not laughing at them and making jokes about them and They're They don't do that all that in Korea.

[00:29:16]So, some people get kind of culture shocked here when they see that how the media is very indifferent to them and how the media can be can be verbally chiding to them and trying to get a rise out of them. So, I I need K-pop fans to understand that like this is just how the media is that the Western media will humble you because they they don't care about K-pop singers.

[00:29:38]They barely They They give BTS respect, but BTS had to earn that respect, honey.

[00:29:43]When BTS first came here to America, a lot of you older Armys will tell them, they did not they did not get the red carpet welcome for them like Blackpink did. When BTS came here to America, they was called ugly, they was called gay, they was called they wore too much makeup, they was like they don't speak no English, they was faced a lot of racism and xenophobia when they came here. The reason why Ningning and Karina can even be on the map really had to do with BTS paving the way there and Blackpink paving the way for them to be there. Because again, even when Blackpink came, they don't get the same treatment that male K-pop artists do. I mean, let's just keep it 100. Keep it a buck. Female artists don't get the [ __ ] that male male artists do. Just because of the fact with the male artists, there's a factor of competition and misogyny and patriarchy and there's always going to be xenophobia and racism a a tangent in the media and here in this country. If you didn't know, yes yes, America can be racist. Oh my god, newsflash, okay? But with the male artists, they get it the most because people start questioning their looks and their sexuality.

[00:30:51]It It's It's just different than what the female artists face here in America. Blackpink didn't From what I know, didn't go nearly the stuff that that BTS had to deal with as male artists. And which is a shame. Which Either way, it's bad.

[00:31:08]So then we let's get on to our next subject, which is our next subject of controversy, which is well, kind of controversy, which is which is which is my girls Blackpink.

[00:31:18]And And so, here's a picture of their outfits. They are Let me say before, they arrived separately. They all have branding deals. They all were dressed by their prospective branding branding deals that they're brand ambassadors for. And then all the fans were excited because they even though they arrived separately, they all met up toward the dinner and and afterwards and they took pictures of them all together and fans for some reason were excited cuz I guess I I don't I don't I don't I guess Blackpink it don't don't [ __ ] with each other like that. I mean, that's why I'm just going to be honest with you. All the fans were Oh, they were together.

[00:31:54]They excited. I was like, shouldn't they be together? Ain't they still a group?

[00:32:01]Hello? I'm like, are they not still a group?

[00:32:06]Okay. So anyway, here's here's the outfits that they were wearing.

[00:32:13]So all of Blackpink looked fabulous.

[00:32:16]They looked gorgeous.

[00:32:18]But the standout for me was Lisa. Lisa had this sheer thing on and had these arms coming out of it and was holding up her veil. It was a whole mood, honey. It was a whole vibe and a whole mood. Her outfit If she was There was a lot of best dressed, you know, best dressed and worst dressed lists and Lisa was on quite quite a a of the the list. On the flip side, um [clears throat] I mean, let's just be honest. Rosé was on a few people's worst dressed. She had this black dress that had like this silver sequin bird on it. She had a necklace that kind of matched the bird.

[00:32:50]I Again, I'm not hating on these ladies because they aren't the ones that dressed them. Apparently, Lisa's creative director, cuz you know Lisa has her own like all of them have their own agencies. She posted, you know, that that apparently Lisa, you know, team had a hand in it and stuff like that. So, I can think I can at least say with Lisa that her team and and and herself had a hand in as to what she was going to wear. And I think the the lady who was her creative director, you know, screenshot a conversation and I think in the text it said, "Oh my gosh, she's the only one that she she's the one that understood the assignment."

[00:33:27]So, people saying that it was throwing shade at the other members. All I got to say that to that is, y'all are too damn touchy. You know, the creative director saying that that I mean that I I don't I don't think it was shading the other people. I think she was just big upping Lisa. I think she was just patting herself on the back.

[00:33:47]And let's be honest, yeah, out of all four of them, Lisa's outfit to me better epitomized what art was. The other outfits were a bit more subdued. Jennie, she looked good. She had this outfit that kind of looked like a mermaid. It was like all these like, you know, little looks like she had fish scales and it kind of reminded me of a mermaid.

[00:34:05]Lovely colors. And again, most of the Again, they had branding deals. So, it's no shade again. Nobody should be upset over what Lisa's creative director or whatever or stylist said because they it's not like they dressed them.

[00:34:21]They it's not like they had any I don't think too much input in what they're wearing. Their houses, the people that have branding deals with them trust them. So, again, if the outfits didn't deliver, okay, so what? And then Jisoo had this outfit that was very colorful and and and people just, you know, was just kind of like some people didn't like it. They thought it was it was weird. They thought it was too much, but I thought Jisoo's outfit was cute. I thought it was I thought it was nice. Her makeup was nice. I thought it was very very colorful and I like colorful. I mean, if you're going to talk about art, we're going to talk about color. I like Jisoo's outfit. Some people called it a little bit too chaotic and too confusing and I can see why they would think that as well. But all of the ladies look good. All of them look beautiful. All of them look good. Um even including the Aespa girls, the the Aespas, they look good, too. And like I said, um people were kind of dunking on their outfits and some of their looks and makeup and stuff like that. I'm I'm not going to do that.

[00:35:20]Um I'm not going to do that to women. I to me they all look beautiful and people had complaints and I'm I will never get up here and drag another woman unless they deserve it. Unless they were wearing something like, you know, they were butt naked or something and I would even if they were butt naked, I'll still be like, "Girl, good job. Nice body." I think I would be congratulatory. But I just have to say that Blackpink has elevated themselves and hit a a place that, you know, Aespa just hasn't reached yet. And that's an honest conversation. It's like I said, it's no shade to them. There's no competition.

[00:35:52]Blackpink are global superstars.

[00:35:54]Blackpink whether they they stay together, go separately, or whatever whatever it is that they they want to do. Blackpink are fashionistas. Blackpink have a lot of branding deals. Blackpink are are more recognized in the West and and like I said, me pointing that out is not trying to shade Aespa in any way. It's just that their agency is focused on the Asian markets and we all kind of know that. I know that. I've been saying that forever. There are a bunch of girl groups that they haven't really I mean, I'm not saying that Aespa couldn't come here and tour. They have. And and they have.

[00:36:28]They've toured in America, I believe, and sold out stadium and you know, and stuff like that. They can come and tour here. But I'm just saying when you're talking about in the mainstream of fashion or that type of crowd, which is a tough crowd.

[00:36:42]Being around these rich people and and all these stars that were there. Lots of stars over there and all of these fashion houses and and all of these, you know, arts people and stuff like that.

[00:36:52]It is not easy. I think people you know, K-pop fans and most people don't really understand that world. I don't really understand that world just a little, but I understand that world just enough. And the reason why I understand the world I understand the art world because part-time I'm an artist. I've won awards. I've I've had stuff in galleries all over all over the country. I don't talk about it a lot cuz I haven't done any art lately because my YouTube and my regular work and my move has taken up a lot of my life. So, I haven't done a lot of out artwork recently. But I still like to design. I still like to create. I'm still a creative person. But to be in the art world is very different than the music industry. It's very different than the movie industry. And some of them they cross over and they collide like at the Met. But at the end of the day, like I said, the fashion press is different than the music industry press, which is a bit more, you know, forgiving and a bit more celebratory. But the fashion press are there to criticize. So, again, I tell people the music industry and the and the movie industry, their press is there to report and talk about the numbers and the album sales and do fluff pieces. The The fashion press, the fashion press are ruthless. Like they're there to drag, I think, sometimes. They're there to be critical. They They're They're fans and the people who who who follow fashion and the influencers and the content creators, the people that are in the fashion world, they operate different than than people that are in the music music world. It's just a whole different thing. Fashion is up there with art and art is there to be judged, is there to be criticized, is there to be looked at, is there you know, it it's subjective and how you see it. But but again, like there's there's a little bit of cattiness to the to the fashion like you are like Devil Wears Prada. I ain't I I seen the first one, I ain't seen the second one, but like that's a hyper, you know, over-the-top kind of you know, portrayal of the industry, but the fashion industry is ruthless. It is cutthroat. It is very ruthless cuz you're dealing with just a lot of lookism. It's just what you look like, what brand you have, what It's a very superficial kind of industry. And other industries are superficial as well, but you have acting talent, musical talent, and all that. But but when it comes to the fashion, you know, the the talent all goes into the spectacle. And so, people are a bit more harshly critical, you know, of of of trends. They're very sensitive about trends and what looks good or what don't look good.

[00:39:24]It's cutthroat in the fashion industry if you don't know, for what I've been told. It's very cutthroat. But I know in the art world, it is cutthroat as well.

[00:39:32]And so, you know, it's just a different vibe and and I just want K-pop fans to understand that going to the Met is an honor, allegedly, supposedly, I think. I mean, like I said, it's a little Hunger Games. It's a little you know, little gauche, little little little bit too gauche for me, a little over-the-top, you know, cuz it's a really display of wealth and stuff like that. And I'm not really about capitalism and wealth being displayed, but I do understand that rich people going to do what rich people do and they've always had balls and things like this since the dawn of time, okay? Since going back to the ancient days, rich people have always had balls and gatherings and get get together for for other rich and politically important people. That's just how it's always been. And so, I don't think you're ever going to stop it. Uh Um and I think people can complain about it and they have a right to. I see it both ways. But, for K-pop stars, I need them to understand what their favorites are getting into and they should have media training ahead of time to let them know kind of set the expectations for them and what they should do in front of the camera. If they do not have media training, it then they're going to look like the deer caught in headlights.

[00:40:43]They're going to get embarrassed.

[00:40:45]They're going to feel embarrassed. Their fans are going to feel embarrassed for them. If they don't have the proper media channel kind of set the expectation what happens. So, the fans should know by now that when you go to the Met, that these Korean artists will be humbled. That they may hear things and people say things and then like I said, a lot of times they're at a disadvantage because they don't speak English. So, they don't know what is being said about them. But then the the the people will see the videos and be like, "Oh my god." So, I think that people just need to not overreact and understand the Met is a good opportunity for an artist to be seen, for their brands to be seen, to fulfill their brand endorsement deals. And people just need to take it with a grain of salt and not be clutching the pearls in shock because people don't kiss their artist butt or people don't know who who this person is from from this group that that nobody really knows about anyway.

[00:41:34]Um like I said, for the most part in the press and the Western people, if it's not BTS or Blackpink, they just like, "I don't know who that is."

[00:41:41]Um and it's like I said, it's just kind of how it goes in the United States because again, K-pop is not as big as you guys want it to be or think it is.

[00:41:48]And I think that the fans need to keep that in perspective for the Met come next year, whoever goes next year.

[00:41:55]So, what did you think about the about the Met? Did you watch it? What do you think about how the Western media treats um Korean actors and actresses and Korean musicians and K-pop idols? I don't think people take K-pop that seriously in any way in America anyway.

[00:42:09]So, I I always tell you about the stigma of K-pop. So, anyway, that's about it.