Rumors that members of K-pop group Blackpink could be leaving the company are sending the fandom into a frenzy.
Speculation that Blackpink’s Lisa will not be renewing her contract with her label YG entertainment — which is set to expire in August — first emerged from an anonymous Chinese source, per K-Pop news outlet AllKpop.
“We have been coordinating YG and Lisa’s schedules, but it is difficult to discuss the schedule after August because the renewal of the contract with Lisa is unclear,” said the Chinese source, per AllKpop.
Blackpink’s label, YG Entertainment, attempted to refute the rumors on July 12, stating that the difficulty in matching schedules between the girl group’s members has “nothing to do with the contract status,” per AllKpop.
But the lack of a clear stance on Lisa’s contract renewal was more than enough to send the Blink fandom into a spiral over whether the band is splitting up.
Fans on Twitter flooded the hashtag #ALWAYSWITHYOULISA, sending it to trending status in the US, with more than 206,000 tweets at press time.
—SebastiánSolerđ (@Soler_23P) July 13, 2023
“Dear Lisa, you will never walk alone, you have millions of hearts beating insistently for you. No matter what you decide, we will be here supporting you. If you smile we smile,” tweeted one fan.
—LISANATIONS (@LISANATIONS_) July 13, 2023
“We love you, and that means we are not here just for the pretty parts and happy days. We’re here for the rough times and bad days. We’re here no matter what,” tweeted another.
Rumors of another Blackpink member, Jennie, leaving the agency have also surfaced, as well as unsubstantiated speculation that between Lisa and TAG Heuer CEO Frederic Arnault could be dating.
Amid the rumors, YG Entertainment’s shares on Wednesday fell 7% to its lowest point since May 11, per CNBC.
Representatives for Blackpink at YG did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider.
