A now-deleted video showing K-pop megastar Jennie of BLACKPINK smoking a vape indoors has sparked online outcry, with Seoul’s foreign ministry telling AFP Tuesday it had received a formal complaint. In the footage, uploaded as part of a live blog on YouTube for fans but subsequently removed even as copies of it spread across the internet, Jennie appears to exhale vape smoke while a bevvy of hair and make-up artists work closely on her face. Smoking cigarettes or vapes indoors is illegal in South Korea and the footage triggered headlines and online outrage, with “indoor smoking” and “BLACKPINK Jennie” becoming top trending topics on social media platform X in the South.

“Controversy over Jennie’s indoor smoking... exhaling smoke in the face of her staff,” was the headline of the Yonhap news agency’s report, typical of the widespread reporting in Korean-language media. One internet user claimed the incident likely happened in Italy’s Capri, where Jennie had been filming, and said they had requested that the South Korean Embassy in Italy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs probe the BLACKPINK star, the Korea Times reported.

The user urged Seoul to request “an investigation from the Italian authorities regarding BLACKPINK Jennie’s indoor smoking incident and take strict action,” the report said. South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs told AFP on Tuesday that they had received a petition related to the incident.

File photo shows South Korean K-pop group BLACKPINK members ((from left) Lalisa Manoban, Roseanne Park, Jisoo Kim and Jennie Kim pose with their medals following a special investiture ceremony to present them with honorary MBEs (Member of the Order of the British Empire) at Buckingham Palace in London.

The star’s agency OA Entertainment acknowledged the vaping and apologized on her behalf, saying Jennie “deeply regrets her mistake”. “We sincerely apologize to everyone who felt uncomfortable with Jennie’s actions,” the agency said in a statement on Tuesday. “Jennie has personally apologized to all the staff on-site who may have been affected.” BLACKPINK is one of South Korea’s most successful K-pop girl groups, with their songs topping charts locally and internationally.

BLACKPINK’s other achievements include being the first K-pop girl group to reach the top of the US Billboard 200 chart and the first Asian artists to headline prestigious music events such as Coachella. “Posting such a video on her own SNS channel raises serious questions about her common sense... It is deeply disappointing,” said one commentator on South Korean portal Naver.

Smoking rates are relatively high in South Korea but, according to official data, only five percent of South Korean women smoked as of 2022, compared with 30 percent of men. South Korean pop stars undergo rigorous training for years before their debut and are held to high behavioral standards, with smoking, dating and swearing largely forbidden, especially in the first years following their debut.

Jennie has previously confessed to struggling with these expectations. “It’s really harsh,” Jennie, who debuted with BLACKPINK in 2016, said in a Netflix documentary. “We were not allowed to drink, smoke or get a tattoo,” she recalled of her training period, adding that she had to endure “being told that I’m not good at stuff”. — AFP